La vie qui provient de la mort
by StickieBun
Summary: Sequel to Embracing Sin. Surprising the entire Dispatch, Undertaker rejoins their ranks. But so much had changed since his glory days working for them, so he needs to be retrained and learn the new technology. Undertaker's return takes some getting used to for both he and his husband, Jase, especially when the most unexpected thing happens to change their lives forever.
1. Chapter 1

The Shinigami London Dispatch offices were abuzz with rumors more than usual. Given, the secretaries and officers who liked to gossip had been given a few special treats all at once. William T. Spears was actually taking a vacation, for one, and would be leaving for it after work that very day. Not only that, but he was taking his junior with him with mention that the two scandalous lovers intended to take the vow together under the light of the full moon. Forever connecting their souls together as soul mates and husbands. For reaper kind, it was a huge step to take as it was irreversible. And the fact that it would be taken by the cold, seemingly heartless William T. Spears and the flirty party boy Ronald Knox called for more than enough attention to the subject.

On top of that, rumors of the possibility of one of the greatest grim reapers of all time, Legendary Death, returning to work after centuries of retirement had been leaked. No one knew if it held any truth to it, but it had reapers young and old excited. They wanted to see him in action, to work along side the greatest reaper to ever hold a scythe.

These rumors only became stronger that afternoon, when the very legendary man himself stepped through the doors into the dispatch building and met with Supervisor Spears in the main lobby.

"Right then," said Chronus, ignoring all the stares he was getting. After all, he'd been through plenty of ogling already during his court case and every time he checked in for probation. "What's first on the menu?"

William couldn't stop the flush on his cheeks as reapers coming and going from work stopped to stare. It was like 'coming out' with Ronald all over again. His one consolation was that half the attention was likely focused on his tall, silver companion—who was still dressed in his mortician garb.

"First, I'll show you the lower levels where the VIP gathering rooms are located. Once we've completed that, we'll visit the mailing room, the student gathering hall and the—"

"Just a moment," interrupted the mortician, glancing behind him as his small spouse came through the doors to the lobby. He smiled down at Jase as the doll joined them, and he put an arm around him. "I want him to see where I'll be working too, you know."

William quirked a brow in surprise. "I…see. My apologies, but I cannot bring him into the restricted areas with us. He is welcome to see the rest, however."

"I understand," said the soft voice with a French accent belonging to a short, petite young man with piercing swirled-blue eyes behind a dark tinted pair of glasses designed to filter the light that was too bright for them, and long chocolate-brown hair pulled into a ponytail with a long blue ribbon. "I will wait where you tell me to when we come to such areas, Mister Spears." He bowed his head and took his husband's hand.

It had been Chronus' wish to return to work, and he was happy to support that choice, but he had been unsure if Dispatch would take him back. They looked up to his husband, but he also had a criminal record.

William adjusted his glasses, sighing softly but too polite to object. "Very well then. If you'll both come with me, I'll show you to the aforementioned areas so that you can familiarize yourself with the facilities. Mr. Dubois, there are water fountains on each floor, should you require refreshment during the tour. I can fetch a cup for you to fill if you would like to carry it with you."

He wasn't sure if the doll still required regular hydration or not, having not kept up with the details of their personal lives.

"Thank you, Mister Spears, I should be fine." Jase nodded respectfully. He didn't need to drink water as much as he used to, but he still kept a canteen with him when he left the house, which his husband currently carried within his robes for him. "Please, start the tour. Chronus is rather excited for returning to work. Drove me crazy this morning at breakfast."

Undertaker grinned a little sheepishly at his husband, and he took his hat off and played with the brim of it. "Surprised me too, actually. I never thought I'd be eager to get back into this rat race."

William's mouth twitched with subtle amusement at the exchange, and at Undertaker's almost boyish behavior. It still amazed him that this legendary man could still express moments of almost juvenile behavior. "I see. Let's move on then, shall we?"

He proceeded to show them around the first floor, and then they took the elevator up to the mailroom, where all incoming and outgoing personal mail was filed. "Any significant memos addressed to individual agents will first come here, and then be delivered to their desk or office. You may make use of our postal carriers for outgoing personal mail if you wish, as well."

Moving on with the tour, he showed them the student meeting hall. "We have weekly educational sessions in here for fledgling reapers," he explained, making a sweeping motion at the bleachers and podium. "I dare say you may be asked to attend as a guest speaker at some point, Death…er…Chronus."

The mortician shrugged and grinned. "If they're brave enough to ask a bloke like me to fill young heads with my ideas, I'll be happy to help."

William covered his lips with two gloved fingers to control the smile that threatened. "I am sure they are prepared for some of the ideas you may present, sir. Now then; on to the Glasses Department. I believe Father Anderson has a gift for you."

"Oh?" The mortician raised his brows beneath the fringe of his bangs, still clutching his top-hat. "If it's a flaming bag of poo, he can keep it."

Undertaker leaned down toward his spouse. "We used to prank each other, back in our youth when dinosaurs still roamed the earth."

William blinked, unable to picture the quiet old eyewear designer as the sort that would do such a thing. "Ah, I am sure that isn't what he has in mind. Please follow me to the elevators, gentlemen."

They took the lift to the tenth floor, and William directed them to the factory room where all of Father Anderson's special, custom spectacles were created. He gave the salt-and-pepper-haired elder a salute as Lawrence looked up from the latest pair he was finishing up with, and he set them aside. He shook hands with Undertaker, his mustache curving with his warm smile of greeting.

"And here I was doubting that they would rope you in again, old friend."

Chronus returned the smile and he put his hat back on, before clasping his other hand over the one he was shaking. "It seems I've gotten a bit bored after all this time in retirement, old chap. You haven't met my Jase yet, have you?" He nodded at his small husband with a proud look on his pale features. "You made him those lovely shades he's wearing. Jase, meet Lawrence Anderson…the fellow they fondly refer to as 'Father' or 'Pops'."

Lawrence released Undertaker's hand to offer his to Jase, looking the young man over with curious, friendly eyes. "Good to finally meet you, Mr. Dubois. You must have the patience of a saint, to put up with this fellow."

Taking the man's hand, Jase shook it, "Thank you for the glasses, they are very helpful for my sensitivity to light." He glanced at Undertaker, "I think even the saints would have difficulties putting up with my husband, though. Dispatch will have their hands full dealing with him all day."

"Harsh," complained Chronus with a laugh, "but truthful. He doesn't mince words, does he?"

Anderson chuckled lightly and released Jase's hand. "He would not long survive a relationship with you if it were otherwise, I'm afraid."

"True, true." Undertaker put an arm around his mate's slim shoulders for a brief hug. "Keeps me in line, the lil' fellow does. So, I hear you have a 'gift' for me?"

Lawrence nodded. I do, old friend…and I hope that you will like them."

"Them?" Chronus lifted his brows with interest.

Anderson held up a finger. "Just wait right there while I fetch something from my office. I'll return shortly."

Shrugging, Undertaker glanced at William. "Any idea what he's talking about?"

The brunet supervisor nodded once. "I do, but I would not want to spoil it, sir. Pardon me for being frank."

"Your name's William, not Frank," reminded the mortician with a grin. "But I get your meaning."

William sighed quietly, wondering how he would manage to deal with this man on his payroll. "Chronus, please do try and—"

"Here we are," said Lawrence, inadvertently interrupting the small lecture that William had been prepared to give the silver reaper. He came back out of the office door carrying a suit bag and a glasses case. He handed the latter over to Chronus with a quietly proud smile. "I still had your prescription on file, of course. I think you'll find these a bit familiar, old friend."

Undertaker frowned a bit as he opened the black case, and his eyes widened beneath the sweep of his bangs. He impulsively pushed said bangs aside to be sure he wasn't imagining things, incidentally knocking off his hat—which William was quick to retrieve and hold for him.

"Oh…m-my! They look exactly the same!" He pinched the familiar pair of glasses between his fingertips and he slipped them on with his eyes closed. "Jase, love…could you perhaps…step around in front of me? I'm almost afraid to look through these again. I want you to be the first thing I see."

Nodding, Jase moved around before his lover, "Alright."

Undertaker opened his eyes slowly, and the world around him came into dizzying focus. He saw his diminutive mate before him and he again combed his bangs out of his eyes to get a better look. He'd seen Jase clearly enough in their years together, when they'd come up close, but it was so strange to see the rest of the world around him so sharply.

He smiled almost hesitantly, and he reached out to touch the doll's face with a loving caress. "Can't say I've ever opened my eyes to a sweeter sight," he whispered.

Jase held Underaker's hand to his cheek and smiled, "This may take some getting used to."

"For you and me both," agreed the mortician with a smile. He looked at Lawrence. "And what's in the bag, eh? I s'pose it's not a body for me to embalm?"

Anderson chuckled. "Not quite." He held said bag up by one hand and he used the other to unzip it, revealing the outfit within. "I thought you might appreciate returning to work in a familiar outfit. You've hardly changed since those days, save for some surface details."

Undertaker stared at his old work uniform. "You don't think it's a bit outdated?"

Lawrence glanced at the young Dispatch supervisor standing behind the other ancient, and he smiled, shaking his head. "For you? Not at all. These younglings have needed a morale boost for quite some time…and I think you could be just the one to give it to them. You might need a bit of a hair trim though, if you're interested in completing the image."

Chronus reached out slowly, still keeping one arm around his mate. "Lawrence…" His voice changed, losing some of the typical cockney accent. "…This is…I'm not quite sure what to say."

William took it upon himself to add his thoughts on the matter. "Say you will join us again, sir. Give us…hope. Not all of us have forgotten your contributions to this establishment, and to see a living legend standing before them might inspire the fledglings to not only be more efficient, but to be more alert."

Undertaker turned to the brunet, feeling slightly dizzy with the sudden new, crisp-clear vision. "Alert, Mr. Spears?"

William grimaced slightly and lowered his gaze. "We lost a few this year, I'm afraid. The records…"

"Ahhh." Undertaker nodded with understanding. "Couldn't separate themselves from the experiences of their marks, I take it? Pity."

He looked back at the suit offered to him by his oldest reaper friend. "Well then, I should get a proper trim and try it on, don't you think?"

Lawrence smiled and nodded. "It would be my pleasure to assist, old fart."

"Careful now," grumbled the mortician. "I might have to sic a teeny Frenchman on you. He's quite protective, you know."

"Not too short. The hair, I mean." Jase stated, running his fingers through silver-white locks, "I'd have nothing to brush when I wish to make him melt" he looked up at Chronus, "And I'm not '_teeny'_."

The mortician chuckled. "Of course not, love. Compared to myself, a lot of people are 'teeny'."

He bent over to shamelessly embrace the doll, lifting him up off his feet to plant a kiss on his nose. "I happen to like my teeny love, though."

"Sir," William said as stoically as possible as Jase squirmed in protest, "We do still have the rest of the tour."

Chronus lowered Jase back to the floor, still grinning impulsively. "Right. Anderson, thanks for the work outfit. Jase…well, you know how your ol' fossil can be. I promise I'll only trim up my bangs, darlin'."

"Good," Jase took the suit bag and folded it over his arm to carry it as they continued on the tour. "It was nice meeting you, Mister Anderson. And thank you again for the glasses."

"The pleasure was all mine," answered Lawrence cordially.

* * *

><p>The tour concluded with the Dispatch division, all the way up on the 40th floor. "You will be sharing an office with Officer Knox," William informed the ancient. "He will mentor you until you've adjusted sufficiently to your job. I am afraid this isn't quite like getting back on a bicycle, sir. Things have changed quite a bit since you retired, and you can't pick up exactly where you left off. I apologize."<p>

"Pft, no need for that," assured Chronus with a flap of his sleeve. "I can see how different it is—and I don't just mean that figuratively, now."

He chuckled. "So, I'll be training under your fiancé, will I?"

William nodded. "When we return from our honeymoon. I do hope you don't find that objectionable."

The mortician shrugged. "Eh. I like the chipper lil' fellow. Better I train under him than under you, sourpuss."

William took the teasing insult stoically, well aware that the ancient had a tendency to speak exactly what was on his mind. Still, some restraint would be necessary, if he was to fit in. "While I can appreciate your candor, sir, I must ask that you maintain some semblance of a respectful attitude towards management and try to be polite to your coworkers. Given your status as an icon of our people, most of them would give you some slack…but we cannot have you disrupting productivity. Can you agree to that?"

"Oh, absolutely," said the older reaper with a nod. "You might be surprised how my mannerisms can change when I'm on the clock. Can't promise I won't still pick on you chaps a bit during breaks, but I know how to button my lips when I have to."

William raised a brow and employed a bit of candor himself. "Somehow I doubt that, but I shall take your word for it. While Knox and I are away, you will be asked to undergo a series of tests. The results will give us an idea of your mental and emotional fortitude, your efficiency in reaping and who would best suit you as a partner, once you are finished training. I can push for Slingby if you like, since the two of you are already familiar with one another and seem to get along."

Undertaker nodded enthusiastically. "I think that would be lovely, don't you, Jase? Alan's been worried about the chap going out reaping on his lonesome."

"And then we can be worried together over the fact that they partnered you two up." Jase teased. He had faith in his husband's abilities, and Eric's, but he also knew the job could be dangerous. But he knew he'd feel better about Chronus returning to work with Eric rather than a stranger.

Eric and Alan were close friends to the couple; practically family. They had once been partners at Dispatch until the Thorns of Death; a deadly, incurable illness took Alan's life. Secretly, Undertaker had brought him back to life as a Bizarre Doll like Jase, but Alan no longer had the ability to summon his scythe or collect records, and he couldn't return to Eric's side in the work space.

"Then I'll certainly see what can be done about that," assured William. "It is never a good idea for an agent to reap alone for longer than can be helped, if a partner can be arranged—regardless of how experienced they are. Well now, this concludes our tour. On your first day, you will be issued a company cell phone and a time card. Have you any further questions?"

Undertaker shook his head. "Might take me a while to learn the new system and all these gadgets, but I'll have your Ronnie to help me with that."

"Very good, then. If you will please excuse me, I have some paperwork to process." He shook Undertaker's hand, then Jase's. "Good to have you back, sir."

Undertaker watched him leave, and he leaned over to speak in his spouse's ear. "How does some ice cream sound while we're in this realm, love? I could go for a couple scoops, myself."

"As long as you don't eat it too fast, giving yourself 'brain freeze' again." Jase smiled and slipped his arm through Chronus', "And maybe we can take a nice walk through the park."

* * *

><p>William found his betrothed asleep at his desk, when he entered Ronald's recently assigned office to check on his paperwork progress. The blond had his cheek pillowed on one folded arm and a pen in his limp fingers. It was on the tip of his tongue to wake Ronald up with a barked admonishment for slacking off, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew how tired he was. Both of them were excited over the upcoming vows and honeymoon, though William was better at concealing it. Ronald had tossed and turned all night, subsequently waking him up on several occasions until Will finally made him some warm milk with honey to help him sleep.<p>

With a little sigh, the tall, dark-haired supervisor approached the desk and his normally cool and aloof expression softened. He carefully eased the paperwork out from under Ronald's head, and then he removed his own blazer and dropped it around the boy's shoulders to cover him up. He smirked a little, finding Ronald far too endearing in his sleep.

Without a word, William took his lover's documents and walked quietly out of his office with them to finish them up for him.

"There you are~" With a flash of red, William found strong arms wrapping around his shoulders. Grell Sutcliff giggled in his ear and wiggled, "I hear you and Ronnie plan to take your vows tonight, darling."

William sighed. "Yes, Grell…tonight is the night. Please don't disturb him. He is exhausted and taking a nap, and he needs his strength for the bonding ceremony."

'_And the honeymoon afterwards. I imagine we won't get much rest on our first night as spouses_.'

He kept the afterthought to himself, not wishing to rub salt into the wound. Sutcliff had been behaving himself rather well lately, and he dared to hope he was beginning to get over his jealousy of his commitment with the redhead's former trainee.

"Well, here." Grell slipped around in front of William and slipped a red rose into the man's breast pocket, "A groom should look his best on his wedding day. Show off a little bit and proudly proclaim you will soon take Ronnie as your wife!"

Taken aback by the unexpected action, some surprise leaked into William's expression. He lowered his gaze, feeling like he needed to apologize to Grell but terribly inept at expressing himself. "I don't know what to say," he murmured honestly. "This is…very big of you, Grell. Thank you."

"I forgive you." Grell said with a smile, pulling back to give the man his personal space—for once. "But break his heart, and I'll break your handsome face. He's obviously head-over-heels for you. No one in a million years would ever think that he'd be tamed."

William smirked. "After tonight, if I break his heart I'll be breaking my own as well. I never would have imagined this happening either, honestly. I expected to remain single indefinitely." He sighed. Now he couldn't imagine life without his cheeky, witty lover. It was because of that he'd decided at last that Ronald was his one and only.

"Well, I do have paperwork to complete, if we are to leave in time to arrive at our destination. I trust you and Eric to keep this place from falling apart while I'm gone. Have a good evening, Grell."

"Eric and I?" Grell asked, watching William turn to head to his office, "Darling, You've gone mad." He giggled.

William paused at the office door and he offered another smirk to the redhead. "Perhaps I have, but I've waited too long for this to let the high probability of chaos stop me from finally doing it."

With that said, he went into his office and he closed the door so that he could concentrate on finishing up both his and Ronald's paperwork in time.

* * *

><p>"I'll have a scoop of vanilla, and a scoop of cherry. No, wait…make that a butterscotch sundae. I haven't had one of those for a terribly long time." Undertaker turned to Jase, oblivious to the way the reaper woman behind the counter stared at him in recognition. "What would you like, darlin'?"<p>

"I'll have a scoop of Vanilla and one of cherry, please." Jase chuckled. Flavor didn't much matter to him as he couldn't taste it, so he ordered what Undertaker had almost gotten. He knew Chronus would want a few licks of his, anyway, so he liked to get something he knew Chronus would enjoy the flavor of. For him, the icy cold treat was just nice temperature-wise.

The girl behind the counter wasn't moving. Undertaker finally realized why, and he checked a sigh. If it was this bad now, he dreaded to think of the way Shinigami would react once he was back on the job and wearing his old uniform along with the glasses. He smiled at her anyway, realizing she was quite young and not wanting to be harsh with her.

"Did you get all that, m'dear?"

She gave a start, and she blushed. "Oh…yes sir! Coming right up! I just…I've never met a celebrity before."

He started to blush when a couple of customers turned in their seats to look at him as well. "I think I prefer being a criminal," he muttered under his breath, but he kept smiling warmly at her. "I'm just an old retiree coming back into the business. No need to be nervous."

He watched as she began to make the ice cream treats and his eyes widened at how big of a serving she was giving him. "Oh my…Jase…I think that brain freeze may be inevitable."

Beaming with excitement, the girl put the sundae on the counter and handed the ice cream cone to Jase, along with some napkins. "It's on me!"

"Oh, we couldn't," Chronus tried to refuse, but she was adamant.

"No, please let me treat, sir! I insist!"

The ancient chuckled. "All right, then. You're very kind, Miss. I'm sure we'll enjoy it."

Not particularly eager to eat in the shop with everyone staring at him, he took his treat and headed for the door, opening it for his spouse as Jase followed. "What say we eat in the park, love? Maybe in the shade."

Jase thanked the young woman with a smile, then he hurried after his husband, ice cream cone in hand. "I think that will be nice. We haven't had a nice picnic in a while. Plus, you are about to get busy with retraining. I got to spend as much time with you as I can before you officially start next week."

"The park, it is." They strolled a couple of blocks to one of the smaller, less populated parks and they found a nice shade tree to sit under while they enjoyed their ice cream.

"As excited as I am to try reaping again," remarked Undertaker between bites of his sundae, "I'm not going to enjoy spending time away from you every day of the week except on weekends. I might even get called out for emergencies. I'm so used to being around you most of the day, love. Then again, mayhap you could use a bit of a break from my antics."

He grinned at the doll and winked.

"What's a few hours out of the day when we have an eternity of days?" Jase smiled, licking his frozen treat to avoid it melting all over his hand, "Alan and I can spend some time together as well, while we wait for our husbands to get home from work." He slipped closer to Chronus, leaning against his shoulder, "This'll be good for us. Besides, Mister Spears told me I can visit you in your office."

"Did he? That was uncommonly kind of him." Chronus started to put an arm around Jase, but then he realized he needed two hands to eat his sundae and he settled for brushing his cheek against the doll's soft, brown hair. "I just hope I don't cause too much of a stir. I was a field agent first and foremost. I don't understand all these new gadgets and whatchamacallits they use these days, but seeing as I've got a scientific noggin, I hope I can pick up on it quickly."

"I'm sure they will help you with those things." Jase reassured him, "You'll be working with Ronald, right? He seems to know all about the reaper technology."

"Indeed." Chronus nodded. "I just hope I don't give the lad a headache with my ignorance."

He impulsively leaned down to steal a lick from his spouse's ice cream, knowing he wouldn't mind.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

William and Ronald took their vows under the light of the full moon, a light sprinkle of rain speckling their hair and suits as they sealed their vows with a desperate, heated kiss, not even making it inside to their bed until their third round that night. Their suits were left behind in the wet grass, forgotten.

It was amazing, the connection between their souls, the ability to feel each other's emotions, pain, and pleasure; how perfectly their bodies joined together time after time, making love until the sun peaked over the horizon, shedding its rays over the land and through the bedroom window. But still they moaned out each other's names, never wanting to part again until finally, they fell fast asleep.

Upon awakening, the two newlyweds reluctantly re-dressed themselves after washing up, and they departed for their honeymoon, traveling to spend time with one another without interruption for a week.

"Hmm~ I love this." Ronald hummed, snuggling down in a hammock with his husband on the sunny beaches of Hawaii, a cold drink in his hand for the two of them to share.

William put an arm around him and he stroked the blond's shoulder lazily, for once completely at ease and content. "I'm rather partial to it, myself." He caught up Ronald's wrist and guided it closer so that he could take a sip of their oversized Mai Tai. It was almost _too_ tasty.

"Mm, I'd better be careful," he said after savoring the fruity tang of it. "I could easily forget this drink has alcohol and over-indulge."

Ronald gave an almost-giggle, "If you do, I'll make sure to take care of you and get you back to our hotel room." He nuzzled his husband's jaw lovingly. His tolerance was quite a bit higher than William's, and he knew that even if he finished the drink himself, he'd still be okay to get back to the hotel room without problem. "It's a vacation, Love. You can let loose in more than just the bed." He teased.

"Ah, but can I fuck you as well as we'd both like, if I'm too deep into the drink?"

William hardly believed the words that came out of his own mouth, and he cleared his throat. The depth of his bond with Ronald had loosened his tongue substantially, thanks to a little piece of the blond and his shameless sensuality melding with his soul.

"I really must learn to curb that, before we return," muttered the raven-haired reaper, cheeks flushing slightly.

"Why? I rather like seeing this side of you." The blond grinned, sipping their drink before moving to set it on a table next to their hammock. He then rolled on top of William, resting his cheek on his chest, "And you know you'd fuck me senseless all night just like every other night this week. It's a talent you seem to have. I doubt alcohol will chance how you…" rather than finish his sentence, he shifted, rubbing himself along Will's body in mock of having sex.

William sucked in a sharp breath. He was still oddly sore from their vigorous night of bonding. It wasn't a physical soreness, but something deeper. He was experiencing the ache that his spouse must still be feeling…and yet Ronald wasn't allowing it to hold him back. William's hand drifted lower on the blond's swimsuit-clad body, until it settled on his bottom. He gave it a firm squeeze, and he briefly wondered how the outrageous creature had managed to shift positions and put their drink aside without spilling a drop of it. Hammocks weren't exactly stable reclining devices, after all.

"If you continue with that behavior," warned the taller reaper breathlessly, "I might have no choice but to drag you back to the suite for a repeat performance."

"Before dark?" Ron popped his head up to look down at William, "What a lustful husband I have taken!" He said as if he wasn't just as lustful with William.

William impulsively slapped the blond's ass, and he lifted his head to catch Ronald's bottom lip between his teeth and give it a tug.

"This lust is at least partially your fault, you know," he murmured before kissing him. The carnal desperation from that first night after their vows had faded to a more bearable level, but he still could not seem to keep his hands off of Ronald.

"What, me? I'm as innocent as an angel—stereotyping, that is" Ronald laughed as he slid his hands up along William's bared torso, feeling his muscles with his fingers. His skin smelled of sun lotion.

"If I wanted an angel," William countered huskily, "I would not be with you, Ronald."

He captured the blond's lips in a deep kiss, forgetting all about work, the recent happenings that brought them to this point, and even their surroundings. All that existed to him at that moment was his new husband; this irrepressible reaper that had managed to capture his interest first, his lust second, and finally that evasive thing known as love.

"Yes you would, and you know it." Ron grinned, "I'm everything you want, otherwise we wouldn't have taken the vows…" his lips hovered teasingly over Williams as he spoke, "You need me."

Truer words had never been spoken, but William wasn't about to give in so easily. "I think someone is getting a bit cocky."

He gave Ronald's bottom another swat, and then he rubbed it soothingly. "But on the subject of need, I think we can safely say it's mutual." He slipped his hand around and beneath Ronald's hips to palm his endowments through the swimshorts he wore, smirking as he felt how firm it was getting. "Wouldn't you agree…husband?"

"N-no fair! I'm the one who openly teases!" Ron protested, his cheeks flushing as a gasp escaped him. "You're the one that's supposed to keep me behaving until tonight—tell me to go cool off in the water or something!"

William chuckled. For the first time in his life, he felt…free. Free of burden, free of restraint…and he had every right to express his desire for this reaper. He covertly massaged the hardness he'd found, keeping one arm around Ronald to keep him in place. He nibbled his ear before murmuring into it: "Perhaps I'd rather you remain…hot."

"No fair!" Ron protested, trying to hide his flushed cheeks, "You are never so open about this stuff!"

"This is our honeymoon," reminded the raven-haired Shinigami, "and I'm afraid you've had a shameless influence on me. If ever there was a time for me to hang propriety, it's now."

He kissed his parted lips softly, still massaging him through the swimshorts. "You should enjoy it while it lasts, Ronald. I'm afraid I shall have to don my professional mask once again, when this reprieve is finished and we return to work."

"I'm not used to it. I'm the flirty one, not the one that gets flirted with!" He hummed, shifting against Will's hand.

"You are my spouse now," purred William, his lips traveling along Ronald's jaw and throat. "I reserve the right to flirt with you when opportunity presents itself."

He was getting more than a little excited himself, and he marveled that he could muster enough energy to do so, this soon after their vows and the frantic, lengthy coupling afterwards. He could have sworn he wouldn't be able to perform again for a day or so, and yet here he was, thinking of repeating one particular instance where he'd bent Ronald over the counter in the suite's bathroom and pounded into him until the blond was hoarse from ecstatic screams. As it turned out, Ronald liked it rough now and then and William discovered that he himself harbored a fondness for it, as well.

Thank goodness reapers healed swiftly.

"You want to get rough with me." Ronald accused suddenly, sensing the needs William was feeling. "You want to show me just how inappropriate you can be…" He smirked and moved to whisper in Will's ear, "You're imagining bending me over and pinning me down to the closest hard surface you can find."

William took in a slow breath, reminded that he couldn't truly hide anything from this young man any longer. "I suppose there's no point in denying it," he confessed softly, giving Ronald's length a squeeze through the material of his shorts. "You've awoken a beast in me, it seems. I shan't unleash it on you again if you aren't ready for such treatment yet, however."

He could sense that nothing could be further from the truth, but still…better to practice _some_ semblance of courtesy than to just presume and attack his new spouse at the earliest opportunity. The warm ocean breeze ruffled his hair as he drew back to gaze into the other reaper's eyes. Just because Ronald's body wanted it did not mean he was up for it again so soon.

"Hmm~ A beast, yeah? Well," Ronald pressed sweet kisses to his husband's face and neck, "We'll try stating that beast tonight. My bum needs the break. And it's nice out. I'm going to get sunburned—I just know it."

William smirked and he stopped fondling him. "Then allow me to apply some sunscreen to you."

It wasn't as though they didn't have plenty of time to sate those primal urges, and he was still a man of self-control, beneath the potent influence of being newly bonded.

Ronald sat up, the hammock swaying with his sudden movements, "If you want to." He shrugged, "But make sure you get _all_ of me." He got up and retrieved their beach bag, digging through it for their bottle of sun lotion.

"Heavens, you really _are_ rubbing off on me," announced William as he balanced in the hammock and watched his lover rifle through the bag.

"What do you mean, Will?" Ron asked as he tugged a beach towel to the side and finally located the bottle. Grabbing it, he returned to the hammock and climbed in.

"My mind immediately leapt to sensual areas when you said to make sure I 'get all of you'," answered the brunet frankly. He took the bottle of lotion from his companion and he opened it to squirt some into his palm. "It's ridiculous. Despite your obvious charms, I'm usually able to focus on other things besides sex."

He set the lotion down next to him and he rubbed his hands together, before smoothing it over the smaller reaper's shoulders and back—conveniently urging him to rest on top of him in the process. "I haven't suffered such a one-track mind since I was a fledgling. I fear you'll prove even more distracting in the office, now that we have this bond. It could take some adjustment."

Ronald chuckled, "I'll have to remember that you can pick up on my double-meanings now. Use it more carefully…use it when I am aiming to seduce you in the office."

"You really are a terror, Ronald." William squirted some more lotion onto his hand and he painstakingly maneuvered himself so that he could sit up and start on the blond's thighs with it. His palms smoothed the creamy blend over the front of them first, before he paused to apply more and rub it onto the back of them. "I do, however, enjoy putting my hands on your body for whatever reason I have available to me."

He flushed a little, blinking. Honestly, some of the things he was outright saying lately…

"I can help silence such open words." Ron grinned before hooking his hand behind Will's neck and pulling him into a kiss. His tongue slipping in past his lips to taste him a moment before he eased back, "Can't say anything if your lips are busy."

William cupped the back of Ronald's head abruptly to draw him in for another kiss, unmindful of the traces of lotion remaining on his hand. He plunged his tongue past the blond's lips demandingly, taking a much deeper taste of him than Ronald had sampled before. He heard a snort off to his left and he opened his eyes to see one of the resort staff passing by, looking at them. He abruptly broke the kiss, his face heating with mortification at his own publicly brazen behavior.

"Newlyweds," she sighed with amusement, continuing on as if she were used to seeing this sort of thing all the time. Fortunately in the Shinigami realm, the sight of a same gender couple hardly phased anyone.

Grinning like a madman, Ronald forced William to look back at him, "They don't exist." He hinted, "No one will judge us here. This week is all about us. You, me, the beautiful beach. Don't worry about being caught in a lip-lock.

Some of William's typically reserved nature returned. "Even so, I think I should practice some measure of restraint…at least until we return to the suite for the evening. Honestly, I don't know what's come over me."

Well, he _did_ know, but he would have thought he had better self-control than this. It was like being under a spell of some sort.

"Not on our honeymoon." Ron insisted, "We can kiss each other all we want! No work policies to hold us back! Now, are you going to finish giving me a rub-down so I can do so for you? You could probably use a fresh layer of protection. Let it soak in a bit before we go for a swim."

William almost smiled. Yes, it was their honeymoon…as he'd just finished saying earlier. "Indeed. Onto your back, Mr. Knox-Spears…so that I can finish."

Ron flopped back on his back and stretched out, "Rub away~ Wouldn't want funky tan lines on your husband, after all~"

William hap hazardously straddled the younger reaper to rub down his chest and abs with the lotion. He still felt some subtle, residual embarrassment—but that part of his mate that had transferred over to him countered it enough for him to resume. He shook the bottle and he collected more onto his hand to resume, smirking down at his companion as he tweaked his nipples as he massaged the lotion into his chest.

"Tease." Ron smirked, sliding his hands along Will's legs.

William bent over him to brush his lips softly against the blond's, not quite going into a full-on kiss. "That's usually my adjective for you. Perhaps a bit of turnabout is good for us."

He let his lotion-slick palms slide down the younger reaper's slim torso to his stomach, kneading and rubbing as he went. "I'd say it's a fair trade…wouldn't you?"

"Nope." Ron shook his head, "We don't even know what I got from you, yet."

"Oh heavens," groaned the supervisor. "Ronald Knox with a work ethic? While that might be pleasant in the office, I think I'd sorely miss our forays into horribly inappropriate territories."

"If you think I'll start taking on overtime like you, then you are in for a disappointment!" Ron insisted, snatching up the bottle and squeezing some lotion onto his hand before starting to rub it into Will's skin.

"If ever you were to do so, I think I would send you to a doctor for psychiatric evaluation." William smirked, and he closed his eyes in pleasure at the feel of his husband's hands gliding over his skin. Even such a simple gesture was a delight to his senses, and he was sorry to have missed out on this bond for so long. It would take some getting used to feeling Knox-ish impulses, true, but the benefits far outweighed the slight disadvantages.

"Good, because I'd need it!" Ron grinned, dipping his fingers under the waist of William's swim trunks. "Unless Overtime is being spent _on_ a desk rather than _at_ a desk."

"You'll tempt me to drag you off to our suite to give you overtime of that nature right now, if you keep teasing," warned the brunet—not entirely kidding. For someone that wanted to take a break from lovemaking, Ronald was already doing a fair job of pushing his buttons again.

"I'm just pointing something out!" Ron said, sliding his hands around Will's hips before withdrawing to reload the lotion onto his hands, "Turn around so I can get your back."

William obliged, rolling over onto his stomach to give Ron access to his back. The tropical breeze felt good against his skin and he relaxed again under the blond's ministrations.

"And to think; at this time of day back home, I would be sitting at my desk, mired in paperwork."

He sighed, closing his eyes. "I much prefer this."

"I told you parties are much better than overtime~" Ron teased as he rubbed the lotion into Will's back, massaging it into his strong shoulders and back, "Even something as simple as a party for two." He leaned forward and kissed the back of William's neck.

William shivered, his previous condition returning shamelessly and making him want to squirm. It seemed like he spent more hours of the day aroused than not. His body apparently didn't need as much time to recuperate as he'd expected.

"Do hurry it up, Ronald," he breathed. "I should like to get into the water and cool off, before someone notices the obnoxious state I'm in once more, thanks to you."

Laughing, Ronald rubbed the lotion into his husband's arms, legs and face before hopping out of the hammock and taking another sip of their drink. "Ready for a run across the hot sand, then?"

William set his feet down in the sand and when he stepped out of the shade with Ronald, he hissed. "Bloody hell," he complained, shifting from one foot to the other. "I generally don't rush things, but…"

He took off running then, kicking up sand as he raced for the water.

Ronald grinned and took off after him, chasing him down to the water's edge and then tackling William into the water, the waves crashing over their bodies as they fell.

William sputtered for a moment as his head broke through the water, but Ronald's happily grinning face made it nigh impossible for him to retain any annoyance he might have felt. Driven by mischief he ordinarily would never partake in, the brunet splashed his spouse.

"H-hey!" Ronald laughed, splashing the salty water back at the brunet. But his protest was a playful one. He was happy that his husband was enjoying himself; letting go and having fun. That was what a vacation was about, after all. Letting go of the stressful things and focusing on enjoyment. Their honeymoon was much more than just their private celebration of their vows. It was healthy for William – a man who hardly took a day off work and was all too used to the stress of his job.

They played a bit, swam a bit, and took several breaks to kiss and caress, until the couple got hungry and decided to come out of the water. It was a little after 2 pm in their part of the world; which mean it was after 1 am in Shinigami London. They were just getting acclimated to the time difference, but their bodies still thought they should be winding down for bed when they returned to the suite, got cleaned up and ordered a meal from room service. Eating the late lunch didn't help with that. As the food digested, William had trouble keeping his eyes open and when he noticed Ronald nodding off beside him at the table, he smirked and got out of his chair.

Scooping his sleepy mate up into his arms, the brunet carried him into the bedroom area and deposited him onto the king-sized bed. The bed faced the big, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the beach, affording a magnificent view of the ocean and the sunsets at evening time. He closed the curtains to darken the room and give them privacy, and helped Ronald out of his robe before removing his own. Climbing in with him, he set the alarm to wake them by sunset time, so they could enjoy it together and decide what to do for entertainment in the evening.

"You fall asleep faster than anyone I've ever met," William softly informed his husband as he pulled him into his embrace and nuzzled the damp, blond on black hair. Sighing in contentment, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off.

* * *

><p>Eric awoke with a growl as the sound of his next-door neighbors' obnoxious, loud music cut through the air and roused him from a dead sleep. The bass from the stereo made the glass in the windows rattle against their panes. Ever since they'd moved in, the new neighbors woke him and Alan up at least four nights a week playing their loud music in the late hours. Not only that, but they came home drunk on the weekends and stayed rowdy 'till around the 4 am mark.<p>

Beside him, his smaller companion squirmed and complained, stuffing a pillow over his head. Even angrier that their discourtesy had bothered Alan's rest too; the Scotsman muttered to himself and yanked the covers aside. Unmindful of his nudity, he stalked to the door with deliberate intent.

"Be right back," he told Alan when the brunet peeked out from under the pillows at him.

"Eric?" Alan sat up and rubbed his sleepy eyes as he watched his husband walk to the door, "Where are you going?" His green and gold eyes swirled with blue drifted to the window and he sighed, getting up and pulling on his robe as he followed his rather exposed husband, "They won't listen to you."

"Oh, they'll listen," promised the Scotsman with a wink at him. "They'll have no choice. Might want tae plug yer ears, sweetheart."

With that said, he went into the storage room to retrieve something that was guaranteed to get the attention of the neighbors. He was tired of reasoning with them. It was time to give them a taste of their own medicine. He flicked on the lights in the living room after carrying two things into the room, and he opened an instrument case to reveal his secret weapon. He plugged in the amp, hooked up the object and got it ready, before opening the windows to make sure the obnoxious neighbors heard every sound he was about to produce. Still nude, he returned to his instrument and brought the mouth piece to his lips, taking a deep breath before starting.

Moments later, the sound of electric bagpipes blared through his and Alan's home, cranked up as loud as it could go.

"Eric!" Alan cried, covering his ears, his voice lost in the sound after Eric filled the bag with air and started playing. He adored when Eric played his pipes, but it was far too loud and late at night.

The fine china rattled in the cupboards, "Eric! It's too loud!"

Unable to hear him, Eric kept playing. He started out with a couple of folk songs, belting out the music with feeling and enjoying every minute of it.

"Eric! This isn't solving anything!" Alan stumbled over and turned the amp down, "You are only adding to the noise waking up the entire block."

Eric stopped playing, and he grinned upon realizing that the music from next door had ceased. "Ya were sayin'?"

Someone started to knock at the front door. Eric put the pipes down on the couch and started for the door. If it was the obnoxious neighbors he intended to answer it in the buff, but he'd slip on a robe if it were anyone else.

Sighing, the brunet tugged his robes around himself tighter, "If you start a noise war with the neighbors, I'm going over to Chronus and Jase's house at night." He warned.

Eric laughed softly and went to check the peep-hole in the door. "It's them."

He unlocked the door and pulled it open wide before his husband could utter a single protest, and he stood before their new neighbors in his birthday suit. On the other side of the threshold, a thin blond reaper wearing his hair in a ponytail was preparing to knock again and at his side was his companion—a black-haired reaper with half his head shaved. They both ogled the tall, tattooed form that stood with his arms crossed over his chest, and whatever complaints they were about to issue got lodged in their throats.

"Somethin' I can help ya with?" Eric questioned, his eyes cold on them.

"Y-your music was a little…loud," said the blond one, and his eyes flicked to Eric's exposed endowments before hastily looking away.

"So was yers," pointed out the Scotsman. "I figured if mah partner an' I are gonna be kept up all night wi' loud music, might as well be somethin' we like."

"You think that was 'music'?" said the dark-haired one with a grimace.

"Better 'n tha' off-beat garbage ya keep pumpin' out at tha wee hours," snapped Eric. He stared at them both. "I've go' tae work in tha mornin'. Yer keepin' me up, an' yer keepin' mah husband awake too."

"Eric!" Alan protested, running back from their bedroom with the sheet from their bed—the first thing he spotted that would work. He hurried up behind Eric and slipped the sheet around his lover's waist, "Have you no shame?! Don't go flashing that off to the neighborhood!"

Eric smirked as their neighbors blushed, paying little attention to his spouse's embarrassed fussing. "Let's parlay. Keep tha noise down on yer end an' I'll do the same, aye?"

The dark-haired one looked like he might protest—but then his companion nudged him and he nodded. "We'll keep it down."

"Good, then. Sleep tight, lads." Eric shut the door and locked it, before chuckling at poor Alan. "Sure way tae intimidate an Englishman is tae go into battle naked. Wha's wrong, sweetheart? Yer lookin' a bit flustered."

"Of course I am! You answering the door like that! I thought only I got to see you naked!" The brunet couldn't help but feel a little jealous and possessive over Eric. They were bound together by the vows they had shared, and he knew Eric would be forever faithful, but that didn't excuse other eyes drinking in the sight of the Scotsman.

Eric took the small brunet into his arms, grinning in spite of himself as he held him close. "They can look all they want," he promised, "but yer th' only one tha' gets tae touch me, Alan."

He lowered his mouth to his irate husband's to give him a kiss. "'Sides," he murmured between soft pecks, "I dinnae think sex was on their minds. I'll bet they'll think twice before blowin' up their stereo at the wee hours, now. A man tha's no' afraid tae answer tha door naked is a man tha's no' afraid tae fight tha' way either, if it comes tae it."

He kissed him again. "But I won't," he promised, sensing Alan's tension. "I jus' wanted tae give 'em an impression."

"Doesn't mean I like it." The brunet insisted, hugging him, "I don't want to share the view."

Chuckling again, the bigger reaper started to walk back to the bedroom—only to get tangled up in the sheet that his companion had hastily wrapped around his waist. "Damn, I guess so," he muttered, caught between amusement and frustration.

He gathered up the sheets and he smirked at Alan, leaning down to kiss his lips again. "I love it when ya get territorial o'er me, sweetheart."

"That doesn't mean you should test me. I can still get mad at you, you know." Alan said against his lips, "I could punish you by making you sleep in the guest room…or…I could reward you with something a little more fun…" he trailed kisses from Eric's jaw down his neck.

"Mmm," purred the Scotsman. "Careful there now, bonny lad. Talk of 'rewards' is makin' me happy."

The sheets coiled around his waist hindered him, so he tugged them off. "I've still got a few hours before I've got tae get up fer work." He started to guide his husband to the bedroom again. "Why dun' ya show me an example of tha rewards yer willin' tae give me, aye?"

"But you have work." Alan teased, sliding his hands over Eric's shoulders, "We should be sleeping—namely you. You are acting supervisor while William and Ronald are away, after all."

The brunet nuzzled Eric and then turned and slipped back into the bed, shedding his robe and laying down, "Can you make it through your work day on compromised sleep? No sleeping on the job?"

"Fer mah sweet husband?" Eric climbed in with him and he began to kiss him, starting from his cheeks and making his way down his body. "I can make exceptions."

He circled Alan's navel with his tongue and he grinned as he gasped. Being a little tired for work in the morning was worth making his companion cry out with bliss.

"Er-ic!" Alan squirmed, the sensation both tickling and igniting a flame within him, "Really, we should be sleeping!"

"Wha's wrong?" asked the Scotsman teasingly. His attentions drifted lower. "We can still sleep afterwards, love."

"I can—you have work." The brunet giggled, "I just want to make sure you are making a smart choice here rather than let _him_ do the thinking." He said, pointing down at Eric's excited member.

Eric chuckled and tugged his husband's pajama pants down, pressing kisses on his hip. "Wull I'm good an' awake now, an' I doubt I'll get tae sleep again before the alarm goes off." He brushed his lips over Alan's awakening groin teasingly. "An' ye know when it comes to mah husband, I'm always thinkin' wi' tha' part o' me."

He had every intention of pleasuring his sweet soul mate, but then his work phone began to go off. Eric bowed his head and groaned. "Dammit…why did Spears have tae leave _me_ in charge while he's gone?"

With a disappointed sigh, he snatched up his phone off the bedside table and brought it to his ear. "Slingby. Aye. Ah, hell, I'll be right in. Bye."

He hung up and got out of bed regretfully. "Looks like ya get a reprieve from mah hyper cock after all, sweetheart. I've go' tae go in early 'cause a few greenies misfiled their collections yesterday an' we need tae get 'em sorted out before tha day starts."

He went to the closet to retrieve his uniform and he glanced back at his lover—who was still partially exposed to his gaze. He waggled his eyebrows and smiled crookedly at him. "Dun' think I won't pick up where we left off, when I get home t'night."

"Where you left off? You'll have to start over. I won't be laying here like this all day. I wouldn't be able to bring you lunch on your break." Pulling his bottoms back up, he slipped out of the bed and walked over to help Eric with his tie. Eric knew how to tie a tie, but often had to try a few times before it looked nice or the lengths were correct between the thick end and the thin end.

The Scotsman sighed and allowed his spouse to assist him. "This isn't tha most promisin' start tae tha day," he complained. "Dunno how tha hell Spears puts up wi' it. I've gained a new respect fer tha man."

He glanced down when Alan finished, and he kissed him softly on the lips. "Thanks, love." He slipped into his underwear, shifting his junk so he could fit it into the garment. "Damn, I hate putting these on when I'm like this. Maybe I ought tae go commando style today."

"Yeah, and show off even more that you have a raging problem? I don't think so." Alan kissed his cheek, "Do you want me to make you up a quick breakfast before you leave and I get back in bed?"

"A bowl of cereal would do jus' fine, I think," answered the taller reaper. He climbed into his trousers and did them up with a little grimace, still sporting his 'raging problem'. With a sigh, he threaded his belt through the loops and buckled it. "Wish I had time fer a cold shower."

"Alright." Alan kissed Eric before returning to the bed, "I'm going to get back to sleep…I'll see you on your lunch break."

Eric patted him on the rear familiarly before slipping on his blazer and getting his shoes and socks on. It was going to be a long day. He just hoped the boss was enjoying his vacation, else this wouldn't be worth it.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Jase shuffled back into the bedroom from the bathroom. The morning light still not yet painting the sky bright colors, leaving the bedroom cast in the cold white light of the moon. With a groan, the doll slipped back into bed, not caring he had walked to his husband's side of the bed and had lay down atop Chronus, snuggling into him as he hoped sleep would take him once more.

The reaper stirred and he stroked Jase's back, sensing his mild distress and residual nausea. "You all right, love? Did the ice cream we had yesterday give you a tummy ache?"

"Possibly." The doll sighed, resting his cheek on Undertaker's cool chest, "Maybe I had too much of it for my stomach to handle." Tilting his head up, he looked at Chronus' worried expression in the dim light, "I'll be fine. I feel better already."

Undertaker yawned. "Well, that's good." He grabbed the alarm clock from the side table on his side of the bed. "Hmm, only a little more than half an hour before I need to be up. I think the worst thing about returning to Dispatch is going to be these buggered hours. I've been working graveyard hours for so long, I forgot how bloody awful it is to get up so early in the morning."

He yawned again and cuddled his small spouse. "Mayhap I should just save the torment for when Spears and Knox return from their honeymoon, eh? Spend more time in bed snuggling with you while I can."

He'd decided to start getting used to going to bed and rising early while the newlyweds were away, so that he'd be somewhat adjusted to the change in sleeping patterns by the time they got back and he started going to work. It was hard to stay motivated to get up early when he had no current reason to, though.

"How are you going to survive these early mornings?" Jase mumbled tiredly, "You rarely wake up before nine in the morning, usually…" he said, lazily playing with a tangled lock of silver hair.

"I did it before, I can do it again," insisted the ancient. "I was a reaper for much longer than I was a mortician, after all. I just might be a little crabby at first when I go into work, 'till I get used to it again."

He grinned and he ran his nails over Jase's ribcage in a tickling caress. "Besides, I have my sweet little Frenchman to look forward to coming home to at the end of each day. I hope you know this is probably going to make me a perkier bloke in the bedroom than I already am, being away from you all day long."

"We'll see how tired you are when you get home. It may take you a bit to get used to that, as well." Jase said, shivering from Undertaker's soft touch, "Or maybe I'll be the one to be perkier in the bedroom."

For a long time, Undertaker had always been the one to start things, but after they got their life back together after Heaven's interference, he had been a little more forward with his sexuality, even being the one to seduce his husband when the reaper didn't expect any action in the evening.

"The chance of my ever objecting to that is so miniscule, it may as well be an amoeba," chuckled the reaper. "So if I'm ever too tired to perform, feel free to climb onto me and have your way with me, darlin'."

He rubbed Jase's bottom through the pajama pants the doll was wearing, quite liking the thought. Jase had gotten very good at riding him, now that his inhibitions had loosened up.

"I doubt it'll be as fun if you are asleep, Chronus, darling." Jase smiled, "I can wait until you are awake and ready for me." With a sigh, Jase slid his hands along his husband's torso and pressing little kisses to his shoulders.

"Who says I'd sleep through that?" Undertaker grinned and sighed, enjoying the feel of Jase's little kisses. "It's a guaranteed way to wake me up, love. Mm, speaking of awake…"

He flipped Jase over suddenly and pulled him down, so that his legs were bent and his thighs cradling the reaper's hips. Chronus kissed him on the lips and then feathered more kisses over his face. "If you're really feeling better now, mayhap I can take advantage of having the energy to perform, eh? Could be a little while before I get my stamina back to manhandle you like this, once I start working full days."

"It's not even six in the morning," Jase giggled, finding himself tangled in Undertaker's long hair, "If we do this now, we'll be finished in time for breakfast. You sure you want us to get up this early?"

"Well, I don't expect you to get up with me at such a putrid hour," assured the mortician, "but seeing as you're already awake now…"

He started kissing his neck, and he rubbed up against the doll enticingly. Unlike his companion, Chronus was still nude from the night before. Jase must have tugged on his PJ pants when he got up to be sick earlier. That reminder sobered the reaper somewhat, and he paused in his cajoling actions to lift his head and look down at him—though he could only lift it so far due to his hair being caught up beneath the Frenchman. He thought he sensed another twinge of nausea from him.

"Sure you're feeling all right, Jase? Did my flipping you like that make you queasy again?"

"I'm feeling just—" but as Jase started to respond, the nauseous feeling started to grow, and his shaking of his head with his response only worsened it. "—Nope!" He gasped, pulling himself out from under his husband and running for the bathroom.

Undertaker got out of his way and he sighed as he watched his spouse race for the porcelain throne. He scratched his head in befuddlement, listening to the doll's tortured heaving with a little grimace of sympathy. Jase had never gotten a virus before, since becoming a doll. They both had the same things to eat the day before too, and Chronus felt no ill effects so he found it doubtful that it was food poisoning. Could Jase have become lactose intolerant, perhaps? That might explain it, if the ice cream was to blame.

"Inner ear infection?" he pondered, mentally running over the various possible causes. "Or mayhap it's stress."

Stress could be it. He'd explained some of the risks of reaping to him and sometimes when his duties with Dispatch were mentioned, he felt a tug of quiet concern from him. He didn't think he was _that_ bothered by it though, or he never would have agreed to come out of retirement for another go at it. Jase had been nothing but supportive of his decision.

With a little sigh, the ancient got out of bed and retrieved his robe. Draping it around himself and tying it shut, he went to the bathroom to find the door hanging open while his husband battled the second nausea attack. He squatted down beside him and rubbed his straining back soothingly, feeling helpless.

"Sorry…" Jase muttered after he got the chance to speak. He lifted his head and looked through his messy fringe at Undertaker, "Don't think it'll be happening this morning… But at least I can't taste how gross this is." He offered, looking for a positive side to his feeling ill.

"Don't you worry about that," soothed the reaper. "My libido can wait. I'll go and prepare a glass of nice, cool ice water for you and bring it to you. Just get your darling hiney into bed when the spell finishes so's you can rest up. At least I've got nowhere to be as of yet, so I can take care of you today."

"I'm fine, Chronus. My stomach is probably protesting that I put something in it other than meat." Jase insisted, "Once it's out, I'll be back to normal."

"All the same, I want you to rest for a while," demanded Undertaker. "It's unusual for you to get the heaves and rest is usually the best medicine when someone's fallen ill."

He kissed Jase on the temple and got up. "I'm going to get that water for you now, and then I'll fix breakfast. If you feel up to it later, I'll prepare you something to eat."

"Alright." Jase agreed with a nod and a small smile, "It's your turn to play nurse then."

"That's right." The ancient smiled at him and he got up to retrieve the promised beverage while his husband cleaned up and flushed the toilet. There was no need to fetch ice from the freezer box; he had his ability to invoke the chill of death. Within moments, the glass of water he'd poured from the tap was coated with a layer of frost and a thin layer of ice formed over the top of the liquid. He poked at it with a fork to loosen it and then he went back upstairs to the bedroom to give it over to Jase.

"Here you are, love, nice and cold."

"Thank you." Jase said, taking the glass and sipping it slowly. Once he felt better again, he moved back to the bed, setting his ice water on the side table before curling up on the bed, closing his eyes to relax, his hands on his stomach in hopes that it was done being upset.

Chronus left him to his rest, still slightly worried about his sudden illness, but trusting that it would pass. He prepared his breakfast while his spouse was resting and he considered what it would be like to return to the job he'd once swore he would never do again.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same," he mused to himself as he cracked a couple of eggs over the frying pan. With a little smirk and a shrug, he dropped a couple pieces of bacon in with the eggs and he concentrated on preparing his breakfast.

He'd made a promise to behave himself at work, but whether he could maintain that or not was a different matter.

* * *

><p>"Can't we just run away and never go back to work again?" Ronald asked as William unlocked the door to their apartment; his arms full of their baggage as he waddled in and dumped everything on the floor, "Because not working was a whole lot better than working." He grinned and turned to look at Will who had picked up what he had sat down to dig out his keys. "What's another week…or five?"<p>

William entered their apartment with a bit more dignity, and he set the luggage he carried down in an orderly fashion. "As much as I would have liked to remain there and selfishly take advantage of you until the end of eternity, it had to end sometime."

He sighed and he closed and locked the door behind him. Turning back to Ronald, he gave him a quiet, subtle smile. "But it was most enjoyable while it lasted. Do you believe you're prepared to take on the Undertaker as your trainee until he's re-learned the system?"

He opened one of his bags to begin unpacking as he awaited Ronald's answer.

"Do I have to? I don't think I'm ready to mentor new reapers—and he's so old. I probably will have to teach him how to use a simple phone and things like that."

"And that is why you were assigned to him," reasoned William. "You know your way around the technology of our establishment and you have a sense of humor that I lack."

He approached his new husband and he combed his fingers through his feathered blond locks, before rubbing the darker patch beneath. "I trust you to help him find his way, Ronald. As much as I admire the man, I dare say I would be a poor guide to him. Knowing the two of you, it may be more fun than either of you suspect."

"Well…if that's the case then don't blame me for any pranks." Ron smirked, slipping his arms around Will's waist and pulling him in closer, "Eric said the man likes to pull them for the laughs. And you know me."

"That's the part I dread," confessed William. "He can be quite childish in his perpetual quest for laughter. I'm hopeful that you can curb your own impulses enough to remind him he is at work and not at a playground, if it begins to get out of hand."

He smirked and traced Ronald's lips with his fingers. "But I will not hold my breath with that."

Giving him a light kiss, William pulled away to finish unpacking. "Enjoy the rest of the day, Ronald. Tomorrow it's back to work for us. I just hope I won't return to too much of a mess to clean up, though I am sure Slingby did his best while we were gone, and Humphries likely helped him with some of the paperwork."

"I'm sure they handled things just fine, Will. Alan wouldn't let things get messy, and you know Eric would have Alan helping him secretly. At least in keeping him motivated to work up to your standard." Ron grabbed his bag and opened it, tossing his dirty clothes into their hamper for washing. "The mess will come after we get back."

William did the same, before neatly putting away his clean clothes in the dresser and closet. "Slingby would be a fool not to request assistance from his spouse, I agree. I have no issue with that, either. Even without the ability to reap, Humphries knows his way around paperwork and filing better than him."

He yawned, fatigued from the journey back. "Slingby is a fine field agent, but he's rather like yourself; more suited to action than deskwork."

Satisfied that all was in order, William removed his shoes and socks and he went to the big, king-sized platform bed to lie down. "I believe I'll have a short nap. Would you like to join me, Ronald? I shall set the alarm to go off in two hours so that we don't spoil our sleeping patterns and end up awake all night."

"I could…but I want to shower first. I still feel sand in my clothes and I know you won't want that in our bed." Ronald walked over and kissed his cheek.

"Ah, a shower," sighed William. He'd taken one before they left, but Ronald awoke too late to have time for it. "Wise decision, dear. I may be having an influence on your common sense after all." He smirked teasingly at him, pleased to see him picking up on better habits, even as he himself had loosened up a bit thanks to the blond's reciprocal influence on him.

"Don't look so smug!" Ron pouted, stripping out of his shirt and dropping it in the hamper, "It's just so we can avoid you making me do the bedding laundry." He hopped out of his pants and swimming trunks he wore under them and dropped them in the hamper as well before walking to the bathroom, showing off his tan lines as he did so.

William watched him go, his eyes scanning his backside with admiration. The temptation to give his naked bottom a swat as he noticed the slight contrast of it's paleness to the tan he'd gained on the rest of his body was nearly enough to motivate him to get out of bed, but the blond was through the bathroom door and out of sight before he could act on it. Shrugging, William laid his head down on the pillow and removed his glasses, placing them on the bedside table near the alarm clock. He could enjoy such games with Ronald another time—perhaps after they'd both rested a bit. He smiled quietly at the thought, already beginning to drift off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Ronald groaned as he walked through the busy halls on his way to his office, none too excited to be back. He missed the hot sand, the cool waves, the warm sun, iced drinks, and his newlywed husband's uncontrollable hands. And now he was back to annoying alarm clocks, stacks of paperwork, and gossiping secretaries following him around.<p>

"You're back!" one of said secretaries said as she and a few of her friends fell into line behind the blond.

"Did you actually go through with it?" asked another, "With Spears, I mean. They say he chickened out on you."

"I heard it was you who left him standing under the full moon!" The third added.

"Ladies, please, don't you have more important things to be doing? I know I do. I gotta train an old newbie starting today."

"But did you take the vow? Are you really off-limits now?" The first secretary pouted, grabbing his arm.

"Completely and utterly off limits and vowed to my husband." Ronald nodded with a grin.

"I can't believe it!" The girls whined.

The blond sighed, "Ladies, just go back to your business before you start getting to be a bigger—and less fun—pain in the arse than William was all week." He stated, trying not to snicker.

"You mean—you actually—with Spears?" the secretaries all scrunched up their faces.

"Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I wanna bang my husband on our honeymoon?"

The sound of William T. Spears clearing his throat interrupted anything the secretaries might have said, and several of them blushed and gave him an intimidated look as he strode with dignified purpose toward his spouse.

"Ladies, I believe you all have work to do…which does not include mobbing my husband. Run along, now."

"Thanks, Will." Ron grinned as the women all dispersed, "I could kiss you for that~" he winked.

"Later," promised William. He spared a light caress of the blond's shoulder. "Shall we check in to our offices now and get the day started? Your new trainee should be here within the hour."

"That's where I was headed before I got the secretaries on my tail." Ron grinned, making no effort to hide his action of pinching his husband's rear, "I just hope the man can at least use the basic features on his work-issued phone."

William nodded. "One can hope. I would presume he's at least taken the initiative to practice with it during our time away."

They went to the elevator and William pushed the 'up' button. "But we'll discover the truth of that when he arrives. Just try to be patient with him, and remember that he's coming back to a very different establishment from what he once knew."

"Did they even have paper back then—or was it all carved into stone walls?" Ronald joked as the elevator lifted them to the floor their offices were located on. "I'll see what I can do, but if he's helpless I'm dumping him on you while I try to keep my sanity for an hour or so."

"Dump him on Slingby instead," suggested William dryly. "I'll have far too much to do today to babysit him. Honestly though, you ought to consider this a vacation of sorts. You'll get the opportunity to show off your technological know-how, your paperwork will be halved and so will your assigned death list. Thus is the bonus of mentoring someone. Should you prove to do well with the Undertaker, you may be eligible to apply for true mentoring and get bonus pay for it."

"But he's your idol." Ronald smirked, breaking away from William's side to back into his office door, "And it's my vowed right to bother you at work. See you in a few hours, sexy." He winked and unlocked his door, pushing through to go get ready at his desk.

William sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Styx help me."

* * *

><p>Undertaker arrived just on time, and as he went to clock in, he felt some measure of discomfort. Perhaps trimming his bangs and wearing his old uniform had been a mistake. He was being stared at and he heard reapers whisper: "Legendary Death" behind their hands. Surely they should have known by now that he was returning to Dispatch, yet they still stared at him.<p>

"I'm old news," he muttered under his breath. "Why the hell do they keep staring?"

"'I'll go out on a limb an' say it's 'cause yer still a legend," remarked a familiar, masculine voice behind him. Chronus turned to see Eric Slingby standing there with a grin on his face. The Scotsman shrugged. "Half of 'em are still stunned tae see the monument in tha library come tae life too, I'll bet."

The ancient grinned broadly at Eric and shook his hand. "Nice to see a familiar and friendly face, chap." He moved aside for Eric to punch his timecard. "Care to accompany me to our division floor?"

"Sure," agreed Eric. "An' dun' worry over it too much. They'll get o'er it eventually."

Chronus breathed easier. "I think I may have a touch of social anxiety," he whispered confidentially. He retrieved his company phone from his pocket and he flipped it open. "But I think I've finally got this mastered. Let's test it."

He pressed the quick dial for Ronald's phone and he put the device up to his ear.

"Hello? Hello, Ronnie…can you hear me?"

"Er…Undertaker," Eric said, tapping him on the shoulder. "Yer holdin' it upside-down."

Flushing, the mortician flipped it over—and accidentally hung up on the young officer he'd been trying to call. He looked at Eric with an almost devastated expression on his pale face. "Oh, rat nuggets…I just cut him off."

Eric snorted, but he was kind enough to contain is laughter beyond that. "Come on, auld man. Ye'll be seeing him in person, soon enough."

Together, they made their way to the elevators and they chatted softly about other things, to take Undertaker's mind off his anxiety.

* * *

><p>Ronald blinked at his phone, which had rang but then hung up before he really got a chance to answer it. His phone had gotten buried on his desk and he'd been over at the smaller desk that had been moved into his office for Undertaker's use while he was going through his training, so it had taken him a little longer to get to his phone. It didn't help that it was an unknown number, either.<p>

It could have been Undertaker, he supposed, he'd been given the man's number with his file, but he hadn't put it in his phone yet. Leaning against his desk, back to the open door, he considered calling the number back.

Chronus walked in a moment later, wearing a sunny smile on his pallid, scarred features. "G'morning, 'Senpai'. A funny thing happened earlier; I was trying to buzz you on the lil' bell they gave me to tell you I was on my way up, and I accidentally hung up on you. Seems I've still got a bit of getting used to these newfangled gadgets, yeah?"

He saw his assigned desk and he went over to it, taking a seat to go over the assignments for the day. "Hmm, let's see. Orientation, fine. Compuper training…eh…alright, then. Death list…wait, why is this so bloody short?"

He picked up said list and waved it, looking to Ronald for an explanation. "Only _three_? I've done more than that on volunteer assignments in the past. Are things just slow this month, or is there some mistake?"

"Nope," Ronald set down his phone and turned to regard the elder, "They have limited collections for both of us while you are in retraining. Each collection has a certain amount of deskwork with it as well. Besides, it's not the collecting you need training on. For these first few weeks we are focusing on what you do need help with before we can let you loose on the field."

"Oh." Undertaker looked over the paperwork he was assigned to file, and he began to organize it. "Heh, you almost sounded like your new husband, there. Having a bit of an influence on you, is he?"

Seeing that Ronald was typing information from his own paperwork into the electronic device on his desk, the ancient looked at his own computer with a puzzled frown.

"Maybe a little." Ronald said as he typed, "But I'm rubbing off on him, too, by the way he was acting on the beach." He smirked and finished his thoughts on the report before looking up at Undertaker, "If you need help with anything, simply tell me. It's part of my job right now to assist and teach you."

"Hmm." The mortician stroked his chin, looking for a switch to start up his machine. Being rather science minded—out of touch with current reaper technology as he was—he eventually located the power button on the box sitting beside the screen. He grinned in triumph it came alive and the screen lit up. Rubbing his hands together, he retracted his fingernails and he waited for the same data screen to come up as the one that was on Ronald's display.

It didn't. Instead, he got a blue background and a bunch of little squares of varying design with lettering on them, lined up vertically on the left side.

"Er…Ronnie? How do I make this compuper thing bring up the page I need to type these files in?"

"Congratulations on getting yourself to your desktop. That's farther than I would have bet on." Ron wheeled himself in his chair around his desk and then he pushed himself spinning over to Undertaker's, "Okay, this is your mouse." He said, pointing to the item next to the keyboard, "It is your tool to select things, these," he pointed to the icons on the screen, "Are your programs you will be using the most for work…" he blond went on to explain which program was used for what and how to select and bring up the programs with his mouse.

Undertaker listened attentively. While he was certainly old and out of touch with the system, there was a reason he'd become a legend, after all. He scribbled down notes to help him keep up with all the steps until he could commit them to memory, and soon he was entering the data on his own, leaving Ronald free to get back to his own work.

Noon approached sooner than expected and Chronus gave a little start when the small intercom on Ronald's desk phone beeped and the secretary's voice came through it.

"Officer Knox, there's a Jase Dubois here to see Legendary Death. Shall I buzz him in?"

Chronus smiled with delight upon checking his watch and realizing it was time for a lunch break, but then a sour look came over his pale features when he heard himself referred to as 'Legendary Death'.

"Bugger, I wish they'd stop calling me that."

"Send him up." Ronald confirmed, pressing the button on the intercom. He smiled at Undertaker and stretched, "I guess it's time for me to make sure William takes his break he likes to forget about."

The blond stood up and walked over to the legend, touching his shoulder, "They call you that because they look up to you. But don't worry, to me you're just some old fart trying to be a new recruit for a second time." He grinned, "Enjoy your hour for lunch."

"I'm sure I will," said the ancient.

He watched Ronnie leave, and he got up from his chair and stretched, popping his neck to relieve the tension in it. He smiled widely when Jase knocked and poked his head through the door. "Come right in, love." He walked over to the sofa by the window and he took a seat in it, patting the leather surface invitingly. "How's your day been so far? No more sick spells, I hope?"

"No, I felt a little faint and nauseous when I woke up, but nothing like last time." Jase kissed his cheek, "Alan and I made lunches for you and Eric." He added, setting a paper bag onto the desk, "How is your first day going? Everyone seems to be excited to see you back at work—except Mister Holtz. He looked grumpier than usual when I saw him in the halls."

"He's none too pleased to have me back in the rat race," chuckled Chronus. Since Jase hadn't joined him on the couch yet, he decided to get up and go to him. He embraced him and kissed his nose. "It'll be all right, though. Old bloke can stew in his own piss for all I care. Thanks for lunch, my dear."

He released the doll and took up the bag, opening it and setting the sandwich and apple down on the desk. He went ahead and sat down to eat, his stomach growling now that he had food to offer it. "Oh, one moment love," he said upon realizing he had nothing to drink. "I need to fetch something from the beverage machine down the hall. Can I get you anything? A bottle of water, mayhap?"

"Yes, please, I'm afraid my canteen is nearly empty. I've been thirstier than usual today." He took his husband's food and moved it to the coffee table sitting in front of the couch and sitting down, "Maybe you could get yourself a bag of those chips as well." He suggested.

"Mm, sounds lovely," agreed the ancient. "Be back in a couple ticks."

* * *

><p>William was asleep in his office chair when Ronald went into his office to join him for lunch. Head lolling to one side, ankles crossed, feet propped on his desk, and he was oblivious to his husband's entry.<p>

Ronald smirked and quietly walked around behind William, bending over and whispering into his ear seductively, "Sleeping on the job, Mister Spears? How unlike you. Better wake up or you can be expecting a pay cut, slacker."

William mumbled something unintelligible and reached up to scratch his ear where Ronald's breath had tickled it, but he didn't stir beyond that.

Ron sighed and leaned in closer, sliding his arms around Will's shoulders and nipping his neck a little harder than usual.

_That_ got his attention, and he jerked awake with a start. Turning his head to look up at him, William was clearly about to take someone's head off—and then he saw who was responsible and he relaxed a bit.

"Oh really, Knox. There are more pleasant ways to wake a man up."

"I tried to tease you awake, but it didn't work. What's with you? Sleeping on the job? I know we both have jetlag, but damn." Ron gave his husband a little apologetic kiss before moving around to sit on the edge on the man's desk, crossing his arms, "And to think you gave _me_ the lecture this morning on staying focused on my work."

William covered up a yawn with his hand and sat up, trying to look more dignified. "I was merely resting my eyes for a moment."

Truthfully though, the strong and sudden urge to have a nap had come upon him, and it occurred to him that this was around the time of day when Ronald usually attempted to have a nap. The brunet looked at his lover accusingly. "It's you. I fell asleep because of you."

Ron threw his hands up in defense, "I was in my own office the entire time! I did absolutely nothing!" he insisted.

William smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, nudging the younger reaper's leg with his foot. "Perhaps not consciously, but I would never have taken a nap in the middle of the day before binding my soul to yours. I fear I'm in danger of becoming a slacker. I'll have to punish myself with overtime, now."

"Don't you dare!" Ron gasped, "If you have overtime then I'll be left all alone at home for hours without being able to shag the love of my afterlife! I'm the slacker of the two of us. Leave the slacking to me!"

In spite of himself, William chuckled. "But I have to hold myself to at least the same standards as my staff. I would hardly be fit as a supervisor if I neglected to do so. However, there may be a way around this."

A little demon was taking over and William attributed the imaginative idea forming in his head to Ron's influence, as well.

"You mean not taking naps at your desk? Good idea. Leave that to me." Ron grinned.

William threaded his fingers behind his head and leaned back in his chair; much the same way Ronald typically did. "Actually, I was thinking you might be inclined to determine a suitable punishment for me. After all, I could be too lenient with myself if it's left up to me."

"What makes you think I'd be good at that? I'd likely make you go out and….drink at the pub or something. Hardly a punishment."

William rolled his eyes. The boy was being thick, not catching on to his hidden meaning. Ah well...now wasn't really the time for games anyway. He still had a ton of paperwork to catch up on and they'd had an entire week to ravish each other. He decided to change the subject. "What would you like for lunch, then?"

"How about we go down the street to that little sub place you like? If anything, it'll be a place where I can kiss you without hearing whispers start up."

William nodded. "I think that can be arranged." He got up and stretched, rubbing a kink out of his neck. "Honestly, I don't know how you manage to nap in the office without waking up with aches and pains."

"Practice." Ron grinned, "Come on, I'll pay." He hopped up and walked over to the door, opening it, "Not that it matters which wallet the cash gets taken from any longer."

"No, I suppose not," agreed William. He went into his small, executive restroom and he checked his hair in the mirror, combing a few out of place strands back into place and adjusting his glasses before joining the blond.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

Undertaker returned to the office with his arms laden with goodies—most of them of the pastry and chocolate sort. "Wonderful idea, love," he enthused as he dumped them onto his desk, quickly creating a pile of sweets. "They have honeybuns in that machine! Isn't that amazing? And chocolate cup-cakes, and cinnamon rolls, and chocolate bars of all sorts...I couldn't decide what I wanted, so I just picked out one of each that struck my fancy and I'll make myself a lil' snack drawer."

He handed over the bottled water he'd procured for Jase—which he'd stuffed into his jacket pocket—and he fished out his bottle of green tea from the other pocket. "Bottled tea," he mused. "What will they think of next, I wonder?"

"Your sweet tooth is way too big." Jase chuckled, taking the water bottle and opening it to take a long sip. Then he got up and walked over to where Undertaker had set all the sweets, taking a bag of miniature cookies. Opening it, he returned to his seat and offered one to his husband, then he popped one into his own mouth, "Don't be spoiling your dinner before you get home."

"I can behave," insisted Undertaker. He looked down at the pile of sweets and his mouth watered. "Er...I think. I'd best start with the sandwich and fruit before I dig into any of these, or I might get a spanking."

"That wouldn't work as a punishment. Think more…lonely coffin." Jase teased, "Come on, sit. You only have an hour."

The ancient took his sandwich, drink and apple, and he joined Jase on the couch. He gave him a kiss on the cheek as he unwrapped the sandwich. "Thanks for bringing me lunch, darlin'."

He took a bite and he nodded in approval. Roast beef on rye—his favorite. As he chewed, he reached out with his free hand to gently tuck a lock of brown hair that had come loose from Jase's ponytail behind his ear. He was so blasted cute...he wanted to snuggle him.

Jase nabbed another miniature cookie, popping it in his mouth and chewing it. He couldn't taste it, but he suddenly had the urge to chew on things. Smiling, he glanced over at his husband, "You do look rather handsome in that old outfit of yours."

Chronus nearly primped. "Think so, do you?"

He took another bite of his sandwich and chewed, extending his fingernails to run them through the doll's ponytail and comb it. When he swallowed, he favored him with another grin and a compliment. "You look quite nice in this ensemble you're wearing today, too. I may have to escort you out when you go, just to be sure nobody tries to snatch up my dollie."

"I'll be fine. I can bite anyone who tries." The brunet smiled, leaning in and pressing their lips together, tempting the reaper straight into a more heated lip lock, his legs pulling up onto the sofa cushions and under him to give him a better angle and reach.

Always a sucker for affection, Chronus returned the kiss with a grin, forgetting about the sandwich in his other hand. "Mmm, goodness...aren't you aggressive today," he murmured against the normally reserved Frenchman's soft lips. He felt like teasing him a bit. "Or are you just reminding me who I belong to, eh?"

Jase did have an adorable jealous streak at times, but so far nobody had dared to hit on Undertaker. It was a pleasant surprise for him to be so spontaneously arduous.

"I trust you, remember…I just feel like taking advantage of my husband's lips while he's on break." Jase whispered against his kiss-swollen lips, "I didn't think you'd object." He felt so shameless, cheeks glowing as he shifted his kisses down along the man's neck before pulling back with a smile, "But then again, I should let you finish eating."

"Eating?" The inquisitive word slipped past Undertaker's lips dumbly. What was food, again? He'd forgotten under the assault of those sweet lips. He started to smile, and he slid his free hand down to cup Jase's bottom. "I really couldn't care less about food right now, you tarty lil' thing. If I'd known you'd give me _this_ sort of attention, I'd have come home so we could enjoy one another without interruption."

He sighed regretfully. "I can't say as Ronnie would be too pleased with us getting too playful on his sofa, though. You're quite the temptation, Jase."

"I don't know what has come over me…" The Frenchman chuckled, "Maybe it's a hint as to what will come when you get home tonight."

"Oh, you torturous little thing," complained the ancient, his voice resonant and breathy with intrigue. "You've definitely given me something to look forward to tonight."

"Gives you a reason to behave, too." Jase chuckled, nabbing a third cookie. "Oh, I also brought you something for your desk." He pulled out a wooden paperweight carved into the image of an owl sitting on a little coffin.

Chronus took the offering with a chuckle, pleased to have something from home to remind him of his mate and his seemingly endless pool of woodcarving talent. "And that's my favorite one yet," he murmured, setting the paperweight safely beside himself. He regarded Jase curiously as the doll nabbed a fourth cookie. "Is something making you nervous, dear? I can't say as I've ever seen you munch so compulsively before."

"Nervous? About what?" Jase asked, swallowing the cookie and chasing it down with a sip of water, "I have nothing to be nervous about. Eric even told me you wont be going out on the field much this week."

Chronus' nose crinkled a little. "Well, how do I put this? Eh, no delicate way, really. You're turning into as big of a glutton as I am, love. You don't even need to eat and here you are, stuffing cookies down your throat as if you were me! Surely, you can't blame me for worrying just a little."

"Four tiny cookies will hardly make me fat, Chronus." Jase pointed out, "I simply have the urge to eat something and I hadn't brought anything for myself because you're right, I don't require nutrition. And I'm not going to take your lunch from you."

"Sounds like someone's getting in a mood for sass," chuckled the ancient. "You're eating a bit more than usual, though. Still slight as a bird, but…"

He trailed off, wondering why his lover would suddenly crave foods he didn't even need.

"If you were a woman, I'd almost be inclined to think you were pregnant."

He chuckled at the thought.

"Well, I'm not, and the idea is both preposterous and impossible." Jase stated, nabbing yet another cookie, his eyes closed behind his tinted glasses, "When last we checked just last night with all your touching, we can confirm that I am fully male. Besides, you said that reapers are unable to have children to begin with so why would you even think up such an idea?"

"Just funning with you." Undertaker grinned and ran his hand over the doll's narrow hips. "But I think you'd make a yummy mummy." He kissed his jaw and his throat, before taking another bite of his sandwich. It was too bad they only had an hour to enjoy this visit.

"Do you want a child?" Jase asked. They had spoken of children before, but they hadn't been nearly as close at the time. It had simply been casual chatting. A lot had changed since then.

The reaper shrugged. It was something he never really thought much on, since he was incapable of reproduction. "Once in a while, I have funny dreams of us with nippers," he confessed. He grinned at the Frenchman and he slid his hand up to caress his face. "It's a silly thing, I suppose. There are plenty of orphans in Paris. I s'pose if the paternal urges ever dig deep enough for us, we could look into adopting one of them. Only trouble with that is they'll eventually grow old and die, while we'll be around for the better part of eternity."

Jase nodded, "It'd be hard…having to let them go when the time comes…" He sighed and snuggled up against Undertaker's side, "I only asked because you seemed so happy when you suggested such an impossibility."

Chronus finished off his sandwich as he put his arm around the cuddling Frenchman. "I've always liked the nippers, yeah," he said once he'd swallowed the last of it, "and I've often wondered what sort of father I'd make. I figure with you at my side, I couldn't go too wrong."

He grinned and kissed his husband's forehead, just over the faded scar encircling it. "So if you ever decide you want to adopt a munchkin, I'd be happy to oblige with that. You'd make a good 'mum'."

"Why 'mum'? Why not 'papa' and 'daddy'? It's not like I mothered the child we adopt if we were to do so." Jase pointed out. "No matter what we won't be the 'traditional' family."

"True," chuckled Chronus, "but of the two of us, I think you're the more nurturing one. I s'pose I just associate that with 'mum'. The nipper would have to have some way to address us that sets us apart, though. How's about you be 'Papa' and I be 'Daddy', then? That is if we ever act on this little scenario. Imagine how confusing it would be for the wee lad or lass to call out for 'Daddy' and have us both come running."

He giggled at the thought. "Might have to assign us numbers, otherwise. 'Daddy one' and 'Daddy two'."

"You are way too into this idea, Chronus. I think you like the idea more than you are letting on."

That made the ancient consider his own thoughts a bit deeper. "Well, why shouldn't I be interested in the prospect of having a family with you? For the first time in my long life, I'm at peace. I never knew such a thing could happen for me, before you came along. I'm not saying I want to rush out and grab the first orphan I see, but childrearing doesn't seem like such a strange notion to my crazy old self, anymore."

He slid his hand under Jase's chin and tipped the doll's head back to plant a soft, loving kiss on his lips. "You've domesticated me, love."

"Oh dear. I may have broke your realm's greatest legend." The Frenchman teased, "I hope they don't find out and want to arrest me."

"They'd have to go through me first," assured Chronus, kissing him again. "Apron and all."

"Fend them off with your spatula?" Jase teased further, his smile growing and cheeks nearly glowing.

"Who needs a scythe when you can have a spatula?" chuckled the ancient. "I'll treat them all like frying bacon if they mess with my dollie."

"Mm…Bacon actually sounds tasty right now…" The brunet hummed.

Undertaker blinked in surprise. Jase normally didn't go for bacon, since it had to be cooked all the way through and he preferred his meat as rare as possible. His puzzlement over the doll's unusual snacking habits increased. Cookies, icecream, and now bacon? It made no sense to him.

"Has your sense of taste started to come back or something, love? This craving for sweets and other things has me starting to wonder if you've got a vitamin deficiency. Mayhap we should schedule an appointment with a doctor for you."

"I haven't noticed any flavor." Jase shrugged. "I've gone for years without needing to eat anything at all…how would I only now have a problem?"

"I don't know, pet," confessed Chronus, "but it's beginning to worry me. There's still some uncharted territory as far as your physiology goes, and this might seem like small potatoes, but I don't think I'm willing to take the chance it could be a symptom of something greater. Humor your batty old husband and make a doctor's appointment, just so we can rule out any sickness. It could be you're evolving. After all, the procedure I used to transform you was designed to allow more potential than any of the other dollies I made."

He brushed a thumb over Jase's lip, smirking as he swept away a lingering cookie crumb from the corner of his mouth. "Just want to be sure you're healthy, my dear."

Jase sighed and nodded, "I'll go in when I leave here. Alan mentioned that they have a walk-in clinic separate from the emergency clinic." He promised.

"Good." Chronus kissed him on the nose and he reached for his apple. "As long as my lil' darlin' is taken care of, I can concentrate on my work."

He finished his lunch off with a pack of chocolate doughnuts—which he shared with Jase. After a rather heated kiss farewell that made 'little Undertaker' do a naughty dance in his pants, he saw Jase off and he sat down at his desk to finish his data entry. He and Knox were due to go out on a small reaping assignment before the day was finished, and he didn't want his paperwork to hold them up.

* * *

><p>Tucking a lock of brown hair that had fallen out of his ponytail behind his ear, Jase walked in through the doors to the reaper realm's hospital, finding his way to the 'ready med' area. The wait didn't seem all that long and he only had to wait in line a minuet to sign in and get a clipboard to write down his medical information. It was slightly difficult as the papers were assuming he was a reaper—which he obviously wasn't. So, wanting to be helpful in not confusing the doctor who would be examining him, he modified the questions to better fit his answers, and was as detailed as possible in answering the questions, sharing everything he and his husband had discovered to be the normal condition for him as a bizarre doll.<p>

Satisfied, he turned in the clipboard and sat down to wait for his name to be called by the nurse seeing people back to a private examination room.

After only waiting for fifteen minuets, he finally heard his name being called and he was shown back to a room and told that a doctor would be in to speak with him in a few moments.

Within ten minutes, a familiar Shinigami lady with strawberry blond hair and a friendly smile walked in. "Hello, Jase! Do you remember me?"

Jase looked up, pushing his tinted glasses further up his nose to help protect against the harsh white light flooding the sterol room. "You are the doctor who examined me before Chronus' trial…Doctor…Skies, wasn't it?" he asked to confirm his thoughts. She had been kind and respectful all those years ago.

She nodded. "That's right. When I heard you were here, I insisted on being the one to see you. So, the chart says you've had some unusual eating habits and nausea, is that correct?"

"Yes, I don't think it's anything, really, but my husband insisted I get looked at just in case." He explained, "Normally, he handles any medical examinations he feels I should have, himself, but he's returned to working for dispatch and has less time at home."

"Oh, I've heard all about his return," she chuckled. "It's got the whole city buzzing. Well, I know from experience that your body already runs hot, so checking your temperature won't do us much good."

She put in the ear pieces of her stethoscope and she approached him to check his pulse, heartbeat and lungs, asking questions about how long he'd been experiencing the symptoms and whether he'd noticed any other changes in bodily functions and regularity. She then took a blood sample, and she handed him a plastic cup and apologetically requested a urine sample.

"I know it's not very dignified, but in order to rule out some things it's necessary. There is a restroom right across the hall from this examination room that you can use, Mr. Dubois."

Jase's face heated as he took the cup in his hand, "Good thing I have to drink a lot on a regular basis, no?" He muttered before making his way to the small restroom. It didn't take him long before he was able to fill the cup up to the line and put the top on it. He then washed his hands and returned to the examination room, setting the cup down on the tray the woman gestured to, trying not to dwell on the situation.

"Thank you, Jase," said the doctor with a smile. "I'm sorry for that bit of unpleasantness. With any luck, we'll find nothing amiss and you can tell your husband to stop worrying so much."

She asked him some more questions and filled out a form as he answered, and someone came to collect the urine sample. She examined him further as they waited for the test results to come back, and a nurse came in while Dr. Skies was testing his reflexes. The nurse's eyes were wide as she approached the doctor and handed her the test results, whispering to her.

"Is this possible? He isn't Shinigami, but he's not human, either...and he's male!" Her confused inquiry was just loud enough to carry.

Dr. Skies looked at the test results and she frowned. "What in the..."

She flipped to the next page, where the blood results were printed. "Oh my goodness...please give us a moment alone."

With a bewildered look at Jase, the nurse did as she was asked and she closed the door behind her. Dr. Skies bit her lower lip and looked at Jase. "Um, I think we need to take another blood sample, Mr. Dubois. Our testing equipment has come with an abnormality that shouldn't be possible, and we need to be sure it's in error. I...I've never seen anything like this, and both the blood and urine samples carried the same results."

"Certainly, but it could be something caused by my being a doll. I'm sure my blood would have differences from reapers and normal humans. I have been altered, after all." He pointed out, rolling up his sleeve so that the doctor could draw more blood from his inner arm like before.

The doctor glanced at him sharply, before drawing the blood. "I doubt this result is due to your being a doll, Jase. The test results are trying to say that you're pregnant."

"What?!" Jase gasped, his usually soft voice growing louder than usual. "But—I'm male! Wait! I know." Jase chuckled and relaxed a bit, "Chronus called you, didn't he? He was joking about me being with-child earlier today. He asked you to play along with a prank, didn't he?"

It was the only logical explanation…

"I haven't seen Legendary Death...er...Chronus...since they had me run tests on you during his incarceration," she assured him, withdrawing the needle. "I wish I could say it was a prank, sweetie, but you can see for yourself..."

She put the blood sample on the tray to go out and she brought the test results over to him. "Both of your samples came back positive for pregnancy. We ordinarily would never test for such a thing in a Shinigami patient, but seeing as you're as close to human as we ever generally get in this hospital, they must have decided to test for that, too."

She scratched her head and frowned. "I suppose they didn't notice that I checked you off as male, but now I'm very curious. Something is obviously making our testing equipment think you're expecting. If this second blood test comes back positive, we'll have to find out what else could be causing a hormonal imbalance ordinarily associated with pregnancy. The nausea you've been getting...does it happen randomly, or is it limited to mornings?"

"Mornings, mostly…but it's happened late at night a few times, too…" Jase said, the amusement falling from his face, "What else could cause a hormonal imbalance? Is it a serious problem?" he asked, not knowing what to expect.

"Well, human women sometimes have false pregnancies...but that still should not be possible for you. I understand certain cancers can cause hormonal changes that might account for some symptoms. Let's not jump to conclusions, though. When the second blood test comes back we'll know if it was an error or not. Why don't you tell me if you're having other symptoms? Tender nipples? Increased or decreased sex drive? Smell sensitivity?"

The modest little doll flushed even darker as he adverted his gaze. Skies _was_ his doctor and she _did_ need the answers to such questions given the results of the first tests. But it didn't make him any less uncomfortable about speaking of such private things to a woman he hardly know—or anyone other than his husband.

"My sense of smell has always been…muffled, along with my inability to taste most things and my sensitivity to light." He started with the easier inquiry. "My…my nipples have also always been sensitive and tender when Chronus plays with them, and…I have been…I've been starting…_things_ with him more often—but That's because I've started to feel more comfortable with my…sexuality…."

Oh for the love of life and death; he wished he could curl up and simply disappear for speaking of such things.

"You don't seem very comfortable with it right now," she observed with a soft chuckle. "I'm sorry if these questions embarrass you, Mr. Dubois. I'm only asking them because I need to determine your symptoms. So you haven't noticed any aversion to smells, your nipples aren't feeling more sensitive than usual, and you haven't noticed any changes in your sex drive, is that correct?"

"Of course I'm not comfortable right now…You aren't my husband. This topic normally stays between just the two of us!" Jase insisted.

"Again, I apologize," she said patiently, "and I wouldn't be asking these questions if they weren't necessary. Please, try not to get upset. We—"

The same nurse from before came back in, and she stared at Jase as she approached Dr. Skies and whispered to her, handing the new results over. The doctor dismissed her and adjusted her glasses, looking over the results with the same puzzled frown as before. "Jase, I think perhaps we should consider an ultrasound."

"But—I don't have the right equipment for it as Chronus would say…Where would a baby even be inside a man? It's impossible." Jase insisted. He didn't want to sound rude and stubborn—or even upset, but he was starting to panic.

"That's what we need to find out," she said soothingly. "Would you like for me to call your husband, Jase? We can wait for him to arrive to be at your side, if it would make you feel more secure."

The Frenchman shook his head, "It's his first day back at Dispatch. He shouldn't be pulled away from his retraining for a hormonal imbalance…"

"That's very thoughtful of you," she complimented. "If you should change your mind, don't hesitate to let me know."

She got on the phone with someone and she ordered an ultrasound machine to be wheeled into the examination room and set up. "Okay Jase, we need you to drink a lot of water. Your bladder needs to be full for this to give us an accurate image."

Her nurse came in to assist, bringing with her a pitcher of water and a cup. She handed them over to Jase and began to set up for the ultrasound, just as a male orderly wheeled the machine in. "It may be a little uncomfortable," warned Dr. Skies, "but once we get started, it shouldn't take too long to get an image and see what's going on in there. Right now we just need to determine that there aren't any abnormalities or growths causing the pregnancy tests to read positive, okay?"

Jase sighed and took the offered cup of water, drinking it quickly and getting a refill. This whole situation was impossible, and he didn't know how he should respond to it.

About twenty minutes later, his bladder was full enough to begin and Dr. Skies instructed him to lie back on the examination table and undo his pants. "I'm not going to touch you inappropriately," she assured him. "I just need access to your lower abdomen. Nothing lower needs to be exposed."

She felt a bit of pity for him as he blushed and complied, and she lifted his shirt up to apply the gel to his stomach. "I'm sorry it's a bit chilly," she apologized, but the doll waved it off, he could hardly feel temperatures unless he'd recently expelled the holy fire building inside him. She pressed the sensor on his stomach and she looked at the screen as she moved it around slowly, starting above the navel and slowly working her way down. She stopped when she got beneath his navel, and her eyes widened.

"Sally, go and get Dr. Eddings," she instructed her nurse. "I want his opinion on this."

The nurse blinked at the screen. "Is...is that a—"

"Go and get him," reiterated Dr. Skies.

The nurse hastily withdrew to do as she was told.

"What? What is it?" Jase squinted at the screen, unable to make out anything in the mess of black white and grey grainy dots and lines. It looked like nothing, to be honest.

"I'm...not sure," said Dr. Skies carefully. "It looks like...well, I'm hesitant to say it. My colleague will be here soon to give a second opinion. Just try to relax, Jase."

A little while later, a male doctor came in to examine the ultrasound. Upon seeing what Dr. Skies pointed out, he called yet another associate in to look. They discussed it softly amongst themselves in amazed tones.

"So are we in agreement?" Dr. Skies asked. "It's not just me, is it?"

Dr. Eddings nodded. "As impossible as it seems, there's no denying it."

Beside him, the blond male doctor nodded in accord. "You should speak with your patient alone, Dr. Skies. We'll give you some privacy."

"Thank you, gentlemen."

As they left the room, she sighed and she turned the monitor so that Jase could see it better. "Do you see that dark area there?"

When he nodded, she went on; "That shouldn't be present in a male. If you were a woman, I would say it's a uterus. Even more interesting than that, you...well, that vaguely peanut-shaped thing inside of it is...your baby. I haven't the foggiest idea how this is possible, but we can do more scans to find out what the...incubation chamber is attached to."

The brunet's eyes widened so far his blue swirled eyes nearly bulged, "Are—you sure I didn't just swallow a peanut whole?" he asked, slightly panicked. "I'm not a flat-chested woman with a penis! I can't have a—a womb!"

The doctor sympathized with him, but she had studied both human and reaper biology extensively to get where she was today; as had her colleagues. "I don't know how this could have happened, but it has. Maybe it's because of the work your husband did on you to transform you into a doll, or it could be a combination of different things. Would you...like me to call him now? He may have answers we lack."

"I don't…know…" Jase looked down at his gel-covered stomach, It was one thing when they had been joking about this situation—but to have it turn out to be real… He shook his head, trying to grasp reality again.

She patted his hand comfortingly. "Take some time to think about it. I'll give you a few moments alone, but if you want your husband to come down and see for himself, we'd best leave you prepped for the ultrasound machine. I have a feeling he might not believe me unless he sees it with his own eyes, even if I show him the pictures saved from the scan."

Jase closed his eyes and rested back on the examination table. He hated having to pull his husband out of work early, especially as the man had collections that afternoon which is what he was looking forward to the most. But at the same time, if the peanut wasn't a peanut he had the right to know…

Finally, he nodded, "If you're sure…call him."

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Undertaker had just started getting back to work when his cell phone rang. Ronald was back at his desk as well, and they were due to go out reaping in a little while. He flipped his phone open and when he saw that it was the infirmary, he poked his tongue out the corner of his mouth in concentration, determined not to push the wrong button and hang up on them before he even answered it.

"Chronus Undertaker," he said, grinning with pride when he succeeded in accepting the call and put the phone to his ear. "Yes, and what did you find? Oh?"

His face screwed up and he stared blankly off into space. "If this is your idea of a joke, I'm not laughing—and I have an enormous sense of humor. What in bollocks are you on about? That isn't possible! He's got the wrong bits for that!"

He quieted down a bit. "No, I'm not yelling I'm...I'm loudly protesting the possibility. How in Styx did you lot even come to that conclusion? Oh, never mind. I want to see for myself. I'll be there in a jiffy."

He hung up the phone, still wearing a lip-curling expression of utter confusion. "Ronnie, I've got a bit of a...family emergency, seems like. Something odd's going on and I don't understand what the doctor's trying to tell me. I need to go to the infirmary."

"An emergency on your first day?" Ronald asked, glancing up at his charge. "Don't be making this a habit. I'll cover for you today but you owe me tomorrow. Tell William before you go so that he's aware."

"Will do." Chronus got up and walked toward the door in a dazed manner, almost looking like one of his lesser dollies. "This can't be right," he muttered to himself. He found William's office and he knocked on his door, before poking his head in.

"Afternoon, chap," he greeted. "Er, I've got to go to the infirmary. Seems something strange is going on with Jase and they need to talk me through it. I'll come right back once I know he's alright."

William frowned. "Is he injured?"

The mortician shook his head. He looked like he'd been struck in the skull with something—that blank stare people got when they were trying to figure out what hit them. "No, not injured. Just...something's off."

"I see. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that this may result in some overtime to make up any work you miss. I wouldn't want the board to get a bad impression, sir." Even though he was technically Chronus' boss now, William couldn't bring himself to speak down to him.

"Oh, I understand that," assured the ancient. "I remember how it works. Wouldn't ask to leave if it weren't so...bizarre."

He blurted a half-hysterical laugh at his own choice of words, and he muffled it.

"Are you all right?" William asked, finding his behavior even odder than usual. Perhaps it was a tad too soon for Chronus to return to Dispatch. He'd recovered most of his lost memories, but apparently the angel fire still lingered in him—not as strongly as it did with his mate, but enough to raise slight concern.

"Fine, chap," assured the mortician. "It's just...I may be a father."

The supervisor raised a brow. "I beg your pardon?"

But Undertaker was already gone. William blinked, thinking surely he must have misheard the man. He'd mentioned nothing about adopting some human waif, as far as he knew.

"Heavens, don't tell me he is going to snap again, after I just hired him on," sighed the brunet.

* * *

><p>Chronus went straight to his husband's side when he arrived in the examination room. Jase was lying on the table with his shirt hiked up, his pants undone and his belly shiny with gel. He took the Frenchman's small hand in his and he looked at the doctor.<p>

"Right, now explain to me what in bloody hell you were talking about over the phone, missy."

Dr. Skies sighed. "I think it's best that I show you, else you'll just 'loudly protest' at me again." She took up the ultrasound wand and she moved it over Jase's abdomen, keeping an eye on the screen until she located the abnormality. She nodded at the screen. "There. Do you see it?"

Chronus adjusted his glasses and crinkled his nose. "I see something...not sure what it is."

"What does it look like to you?" she persisted. "You're qualified to be a doctor yourself, sir. I'm sure you can recognize it, even if you aren't familiar with ultrasound technology."

He cocked his head in confusion. "Looks like a bubble with a peanut in it. I take it this is some kind of image of Jase's innards?"

"Yes," she answered, "using sound waves, in layman's terms. It's the safest way to look at a patient's soft tissue without the use of x-rays or opening them up."

"I don't get it," he muttered. "Are you telling me that's a womb and the...er...peanut is a fetus?"

"That's what I'm saying," she confirmed with a nod.

"How?" He frowned at her. "That could be a tumor or even an air bubble...a really odd air bubble, granted, but..."

Like his husband, Undertaker was confused and doubtful.

"I don't know how, sir," she answered. "I was actually hoping _you_ might be able to shed some light on that. Did you happen to put any extra organs into Jase when you transformed him into a doll?"

"Why in buggery bollocks would I give him a _uterus_?" demanded Undertaker. "I know I'm a few apples shy of a barrel but I'm not an idiot. What purpose would that serve?"

"Well, I really couldn't say," she offered gently, "but something caused this, and Jase did not have this...organ...the last time we examined him."

"Then why would you ask if I put one in there?" persisted the mortician in frustration. "If I had, he'd have had it back then, too."

"I...I know," she faltered. "I'm just trying to make sense of it. He isn't intersexed, your dolls aren't known to spontaneously shift between genders and—"

"Wait," interrupted the mortician, "say that again?"

"Which part? About him being intersexed?"

"No." Undertaker blinked down at Jase. "The bit about spontaneously changing genders. Oh dear..."

Jase blinked at Undertaker, "Chronus…mind sharing your thoughts with your peanut-bearing husband—because I'm pretty sure I am silently freaking out more than you over whatever this is!"

The ancient was on the verge of 'freaking out' himself as his mind churned the possibilities. "Angels are able to change their gender on a whim," he muttered, as much to himself as to anyone else, "and you were doused with a shocking amount of their holy fire when I found you. You eventually inherited their healing abilities, so mayhap..."

He looked at the screen again. "Mayhap that's not _all_ you inherited from them. Seems you might have also picked up some quasi ability to change a few things...just enough for this to happen."

"But sir...can angels even reproduce?" asked Dr. Skies with a frown.

"Oh yes," he assured her. "Demons, too. They're not like our kind. Haven't you read the stories? Angels have mated with humans in the past. It's been a big no-no for some time now, but the fact remains there were once hybrids in the mortal realm...born of angels and the daughters of men. I think...the only way to explain this is that my Jase somehow managed to er...make himself a...womb."

"But then how could _you_ impregnate him?" she pointed out. "Reapers are sterile."

"Now just a moment-!" Jase gasped, but he fell silent when Chronus patted his shoulder to calm him down. The mortician gave her a look that wasn't quite so friendly.

"You aren't accusing my dollie of cheating on me, are you?"

"N-no, of course not," she hastened to correct. "I'm only pointing out that you're still Shinigami, and that means even if he could conceive, it shouldn't be possible to do so with a reaper. I wonder if Mr. Dubois somehow made _himself_ pregnant."

"Don't be silly," scoffed Chronus. "If that's really a baby we're seeing, it's mine."

"But how? You shouldn't be biologically compatible with him. We're born of death, not life. If anything, I would think the holy fire in him would reject fertilization from one of us even if it were possible."

"Unless that reaper's been filled with holy fire himself," blurted Chronus, and his eyes widened again. "Blimey! That's it! Like calling to like...the fire they put in me when they were trying to purify me must have done something to uh...bring my swimmers to life, so to speak. That could mean...oh, no. I think I'll need you to perform an ultrasound on me, love. If I've got any new bits inside of me I'd like to know about it."

He also suffered the irrational fear that he might have a surprise 'peanut' inside of him too. It didn't make sense if the condition was a result of intercourse because Jase had never topped him...but Undertaker always swallowed when he gave his husband oral pleasure and clearly, biology wasn't working quite the way it should with either of them now.

"Impossible…" Jase muttered, wide-eyed and shocked. His mouth was hanging open. "Impossible…Chronus!" he turned and tugged on his husband's coat sleeve. His mouth opened again as if to speak further, but no sound came out.

Chronus wished that he could comfort him...wished he could say it was just a mistake, but the doctor had tested three times and the proof was right there in front of them. He put an arm around the doll, trying to hold back his own sense of panic. It wouldn't do either of them any good if he lost his cookies, too.

"We need to look into this further," he said. "I need access to texts concerning angelic lore for research, and I want that ultrasound done on myself. Are there any other medical marvels you lot have in here that could give you a better look inside of him? Figure out where this thing is attached?"

"We could run an MRI scan," answered the doctor with a nod. "It may provide us with that information. I think it's a good idea for you to have an ultrasound too...or even an MRI."

Undertaker sighed and nodded. It was all so surreal, and poor Jase was nearly as pale as the ancient with shock. He gave the doll a little squeeze and he tried to sound reassuring. "We'll figure this out, darlin'," he promised. "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it."

* * *

><p>After a long afternoon of testing, retesting, and checking over Chronus – just in case, the couple were allowed to return home with the confirmation that yes, Jase was carrying a child and Undertaker was his same healthy all-male self. Jase still felt the shock as he shuffled into their warm and comfortable sitting room, pausing before flopping forward onto the plush sofa and hiding his face into a throw pillow.<p>

He loved children—he did, but it was still a blow to his pride as a man to know that the insides of his body had chosen to simply become female before or during sexual intercourse with Chronus six weeks prior, according to Doctor Skies' estimate based on the baby's size.

"Chronus…what am I?" he asked into the soft blue pillow.

The ancient sat down on the edge of the sofa, and he reached out to rub his shoulder. "You're a man, Jase. Definitely a unique one, but still a man. And you're my soul."

He bowed his head, his silver bangs falling over his eyes—though not as completely as they used to, due to his recent trim. He couldn't believe what he was about to suggest, but this wasn't a bit fair to Jase, and he didn't want to see him suffer over it. They would have to give him a cesarean when the baby came, because his body—despite the alterations—wasn't completely equipped for birthing.

"Jase...nothing says you've got to do this. There's...another option, my dear. Best we take it soon as possible though, if you want to go that route."

He chose not to mention his own feelings on the matter. He was stunned as could be and frankly terrified too...but he'd always been fond of little ones and now something had happened that gave him the opportunity to have one of his very own—a child with his eyes, perhaps, and Jase's sweet, dimpled smile. Beneath the confusion and fear was an undeniable joy at the prospect of being a papa...a thing which he never imagined happening except through adoption. It had to be Jase's decision, though. The burden of this pregnancy fell squarely on the Frenchman's diminutive shoulders, regardless of how supportive and attentive Undertaker tried to be.

"Don't make a decision too hastily," he advised softly, "because right now we're both buggered with the news. You've got time to think about how you feel about it, love. Don't want to take _too_ long, like I said...but sit on it for a few days. I'll support whatever choice you make."

He leaned over to kiss the doll's soft hair, closing his eyes. Without even realizing what he was doing, the ancient put a hand over Jase's stomach, resting his palm on it.

'_You really in there, nipper? Did we really make you together?'_

At once, he felt this terrible sense of guilt; not unlike what he'd felt that day when Jase explained to him the suffering he'd inadvertently caused his dolls—his 'children'. His actions had created this...and now he was suggesting the possibility of destroying it. He'd always thought if he ever parented a child, he'd protect it.

"Think I'll make some tea," decided Chronus at length, because he felt like he might cry. He patted Jase's shoulder soothingly—along with his stomach—and he got up to make his retreat into the kitchen. Once there, he decided he didn't want tea after all. No, he needed something a lot stronger.

Jase sighed, rubbing his temple and face under his glasses as he sat up. Two options...he _did_ have two. Either have the baby, or don't have the baby. It honestly surprised him that he was okay with thinking he did have a choice between do and don't. Life had always been precious to him and the idea of killing a life before it had a chance to live—a life he'd helped created—weighed heavily upon him. It wasn't a choice he wanted to make on his own. It was just as much Chronus' child as it was his. And the man already had told him how he felt about it, didn't he? Maybe not in words, but that caress of his lower belly...the way he subconsciously seemed to let his hand drift there even at the hospital during all the testing if they could stay together for it. It seemed the old reaper was already attached to the little life growing inside him. The question was; was _he_?

Could he allow the tiny soul be taken from where it sat safe inside the womb that had formed around it? Could he go through with it knowing he'd never forget the decision he had made? But could he go through the dangers of carrying the child, and the surgery at the end? Doctor Skies had warned them that there may be some high risks with the pregnancy as he wasn't built for childbearing. Angels and demons may be just fine with carrying children whether male or female in form, but Jase was a human body modified by Heaven's fire and Death's experiments. The next nine months held many mysteries should they choose to carry the child to term.

Chronus had been right. It was not a choice easily made, nor should it be made in haste or a fit of shock. And shock is what he was trapped in. He never would have guessed in all eternity that he'd ever be in this situation—and in all honesty, he shouldn't be. Fate had played games with him in the most unlikely way. And before he could move on to make his decision, he needed to calm down, get over the impossibility of the situation and maybe talk to a few trusted and close friends. Alan and Eric would likely be just as shocked as he and the Undertaker, but Alan had a special way of calming him, and he and Eric both gave good advice, talking him through hard situations he felt he couldn't handle on his own when Chronus happened to have his own little mini panic to deal with. Yes...maybe they needed to speak with them.

Jase turned to look at the clock. It was starting to get late, but not unbelievably so. Removing the blue ribbon keeping his hair back, Jase stood up and walked to the kitchen, standing in the doorway and watching his husband a moment, "Chronus...do you think it's too late to call Alan and Eric?"

Chronus glanced at the clock. "I'm sure they've already had dinner by now, and they aren't particularly early sleepers. I say give them a ring. Invite them over for the evening if you like."

He swallowed the small amount of brandy he'd poured and he grimaced. "Styx knows, I know I'm not much help to you right now. Sorry, love. I'm trying."

"I know." Jase nodded, walking in and kissing his cheek before walking over to the phone in the hall where a black rotary phone was sitting. Picking the receiver off it's cradle, he dialed in the number for Eric and Alan's home in Shinigami London and held it up to his ear, waiting.

* * *

><p>"I said tha phone's ringing," Eric's muffled voice said after he picked up, four rings later. His voice sounded clearer a moment later, indicating he must have had his hand over the mouthpiece when he first picked up. "H'llo?"<p>

"Eric, its Jase." The Frenchman answered once he knew he had the man's attention, "Could you and Alan…come over for a little bit? Chronus and I have a…situation and we don't know how to handle it…"

The Scotsman's voice grew tense. "Are ye a'right? I heard somethin' about him takin' off early tae the infirmary. He din't flip his lid, did he?"

"No…no, he left early because of what Doctor Skies found…with me." Jase admitted, "It…kind of is unbelievable. I'll explain it if you come over."

"Sounds serious..." Eric's voice got muffled again. "It's Jase. He wants us tae come o'er. Somethin's up."

After a moment, Eric's voice came through clear again. "A'right, Jase...we'll be there in a little while."

"Alright. I'll have Chronus make tea. Thank you, Eric." Jase said before they ended the call and he walked back into the kitchen, "They are on their way over, if you'd like to actually make tea this time." He nodded at the empty kettle as he wrapped his arms around the reaper.

At first, Undertaker thought he was annoyed with him, until he embraced him. Both his and Jase's nerves were so frayed right now, he had trouble telling where his emotions left off and the doll's began. "Right. Tea." He sighed and he began to prepare the beverage. He didn't know how to feel, so he just tried to focus on mundane things—like making tea and setting out treats—to keep his confused thoughts on the back-burner.

* * *

><p>About a half an hour later, Eric and Alan arrived at their front door. Eric carried an overnight bag with a change of clothes and some pajamas for them both, and as soon as Chronus opened the door, the Scotsman handed a bottle of Scotch to him.<p>

"Sounds like it might be warranted," he said with a smirk, though his eyes revealed his concern.

Chronus took the offering with a strained little smirk of his own. "I'll have a nip later. I think I'm already in enough trouble with my dollie, without getting too deep in the cups. Come in, come in. Welcome."

He held the door open for them as the couple came in.

"Jase!" Alan hurried in, spotting the doll, "Eric said something happened to you…are you alright?"

Jase nodded, "I'm…more shocked than anything."

"What happened?" The former reaper asked, guiding the other doll to the sofa and sitting him down. "What is all this about?"

"It's…hard to say…I don't know how to start…"

"Start at the beginning." Alan suggested.

Chronus sighed. "Well, the beginning would take all night, and you chaps already know most of that story anyhow. I think we'd be better off starting closer to the end...around the time I was recovering from the angel's hocus-pocus on me."

He sat down on the couch on Jase's other side and he took his hand, sighing. "Seems I somehow managed to get Jase pregnant."

Eric frowned, his brows hedging over his blue-tinted glasses. He looked at Jase upon immediately suspecting a twisted prank, but the lad wasn't the sort to go for something like that. He looked back at the Undertaker again. "Tha's no' possible," he declared flatly, still suspicious.

"Under our circumstances, it evidently is," insisted the mortician. "He's about six weeks along. He's been feeling a bit off lately, so I convinced him to stop by the infirmary so they could have a peek and see what's going on. Showed me the ultrasound and everything. He's got a womb now, and there's a little nugget in there with our names on it."

"…Peanut, more like…" Jase flushed. "They…did a lot of tests this afternoon to try and find out how it happened—apart from the obvious part." He sighed and leaned over, resting his head on Alan's shoulder, "We…both don't know how to handle this…condition I have…to keep it or not…"

"But—is it because you're a doll?" Alan asked, rubbing Jase's back, "Does this mean that it would be possible for me to…as well?" he looked up at Chronus.

Eric's eyes widened. He could tell by Jase's frightened confusion that this was no joke. Jase was still obviously male, but somehow it happened anyway. This should have happened sooner, if it was because Jase was a doll. Something obviously triggered it, and as he mentally counted back, he realized it must have happened around the time he'd helped Jase 'seduce' his husband by suggesting a sexy nurse uniform. If wearing ladies' clothes could make _one_ doll defy reaper biology and get pregnant, then by his logic, it could happen to another.

His gaze strayed to Alan, and he flushed a little. Just last week, his husband had play 'dress up' for him.

'_Och, dinnae tell me..._'

Along with the shocking possibility that the same thing could happen to him and Alan, Eric felt a terrible sense of guilt. He looked at Jase and blurted his thoughts aloud, without even considering how they might come out sounding.

"Did _I_ do this to ya, lad? When I helped teach ye a few tricks?"

Undertaker's hair whipped as his head turned abruptly, his silver bangs falling over his glasses. "What the bloody hell does _that_ mean?" That was twice now that someone suggested the baby might not be his, and he trusted Jase implicitly to be faithful, but the Frenchman was still so innocent and he looked up to Eric. In his already anxious state of mind, the ancient got a sudden mental image of the handsome Scotsman taking advantage of his darling dollie and...and...

He started to summon his scythe.

"Eric?!" Alan gasped, looking wide-eyed at his husband. He trusted the man with his life—but to have him suggest what he had from his own lips like that… had Eric betrayed him? And—with Jase? Cute little innocent Jase?

But Jase seemed just as shocked by the statement. "Wh-what are you talking about? I've never done anything with you to cause this! Only Chronus!"

But if they never did… maybe Eric had dreamt it?

"B-bloody Hades," protested the Scotsman with a warding gesture, "Put tha scythe down!"

"Explain yourself first," thundered Chronus, at the end of his rope. "What sort of 'tricks' might you have tried to teach my Jase that could give you the impression this baby is yours?"

"Wha—?" Eric realized then that his choice of words gave the completely wrong impression. "Tha's no' wha' I meant at all, ye crazy auld fool!"

"Careful," warned Chronus with a feral smile, "this 'crazy old fool' has had his fill of surprises today. Best give me an explanation before I geld you."

"I dinnae touch him," shouted Eric, horrified by the very idea. "He's like a son tae me! Ye gods, yer mind goes tae dark places!"

"Well what else was I to think?" demanded Chronus, but he was calming down now. "The way you worded it sounded like...well, I know Jase would never...and I don't s'pose you would ever either, but..."

"I meant tha fookin' outfit I helped him pick out," explained Eric, highly offended that anyone would even think that of him...or of Jase. "He came tae me fer advice on how tae be seductive wi' ye an' I suggested he try...dressin' up. Ya know, jus' fer fun. Trust me, I dinnae lay a finger on him...jus' gave him some advice, is all."

Chronus banished the scythe, blinking. "So the 'naughty nurse' outfit was your doing, eh?"

Eric grimaced. "Wull...partly...aye. He...sorry Jase an' Alan, but mah balls are on tha line here...he wanted tae do somethin' special for ya, seein' as ye were havin' memory problems an' ye were jus' getting yer sight back. Al sometimes does it fer me so I reckoned Jase could do tha same fer ya."

"And why would you think that an outfit would get him pregnant?" Alan asked, crossing his arms. "And like you unnecessarily announced to everyone in the room, if that was it I'd be in the same boat as Jase right now."

"I'm pretty sure clothes don't impregnate anyone—making love does." Jase pointed out, his face bright red.

Eric spread his hands. "Wull I dun' know! Men aren't s'posed tae be able to get o'er men pregnant in tha human world, an' reapers aren't s'posed tae be able tae get anyone pregnant at all! Maybe dressin' up as a girl confused Jase's body or sumetin'. Chronus said himself he hasnae learned absolutely everythin' there is tae know abou' Jase's biology."

Undertaker started to chuckle, though he was feeling mightily embarrassed for jumping to conclusions. He sat back down and he shook his head, dragging his fingers through his pale hair. "When you put it that way, I can't totally fault you for coming up with such a silly theory. That isn't what happened, though. It was the holy fire, you see. When the angels filled Jase with it in an attempt to purify him, they accidentally imbued him with some of their abilities—take his healing skills, for example. Angels can change genders on a whim, and they can sexually reproduce with each other, with humans...and even with demons."

He put an arm around Jase comfortingly, silently reassuring him that he was no longer interested in neutering Eric. "They must have passed off just enough of that shifting ability to allow Jase's body to...um...grow an extra bit on the inside—namely a womb. I'm guessing when the womb formed, it came with a shiny little egg just waiting for a visitor, get it?"

Eric made a face. "Sort o'. But yer still a reaper."

Undertaker sighed. "Yes, but I've been imbued with holy fire as well, chap. I think that's how this was able to happen."

"So…it's not because he's a doll?" Alan asked, admittedly slightly disappointed that there wasn't the possibility that he and Eric could have a biological child.

"That's the theory." Jase sighed, slipping up into his husband's lap.

"Mah gods," muttered Eric, scratching his goatee. "I think I'm about ready fer a shot o' tha Scotch I brought. Anyone else? No' ye, Jase...fer obvious reasons. I'll gladly bring ya some water while I'm up, or anythin' else ya might want."

"I've already gotten into the brandy," informed Chronus, cuddling his spouse close. "But if you could fetch a fresh glass of that for me while you're in there, I'd appreciate it. Not too much, though...just enough to dull the edge of my frayed nerves a bit more."

"I'd rather try some tea with milk…" Jase sighed, not knowing why he wanted milk added when he couldn't taste it. Maybe it was the peanut talking, though.

"What are you two planning to do, then?" Alan asked, taking Jase's hand as Eric disappeared into the kitchen.

"We don't know…" Jase shook his head, "And as Chronus said earlier, we are both in too much shock to make such an important decision."

"Six weeks ago…that was right after you two escaped Heaven…" Alan muttered, tapping his cheek in thought. It was a cute little habit—according to Eric—that Alan had developed after becoming a bizarre doll like Jase after the Thorns of Death had taken his life.

"Yeah…" Sighing again, the Frenchman spoke his thoughts out loud, "It's possibly dangerous for me to carry to term, and I'll have to have surgery to get the baby out of me…on top of that, it's so sudden and just when Chronus rejoined Dispatch…we're still adjusting to that. But on the other hand…we created it together. It's a tiny little life ready to live…and…it could be our only chance at a child. It had to have happened when we first got back home when Chronus was still suffering the effects of being partially purified. So if we want a child…"

"Well…if I were you, Jase…" Alan smiled gently, "I'd keep it. Having a beautiful baby to raise…one that is yours and your husband's…I can't think of anything more wonderful—even if timing isn't ideal. But that's just me. This is your choice. You are the one who'd be taking the risks. No one can tell you what to choose here."

Undertaker nodded silently in agreement with Alan's last comment, but an ache made its way into his chest. Jase kept referring to it as a "peanut" and he found it unbearably cute. He thought if his mate chose to carry to term and the baby made it safely into the world, he might have to employ that pet name for it. His little "Peanut". A bit of Jase and himself, created through impossible odds. He looked away pensively, his thoughts torn between concern for Jase's well-being and the possibility of having a son or daughter to love with him.

"How do mortals do it?" He mumbled to himself without thinking.

"Do what? Have children? Their females are designed for it." Alan pointed out.

"Not all of them," answered Chronus, still gazing off at nothing. "How many souls have you reaped from death in childbirth, Mr. Humphries? Even the ladies—who are supposedly 'designed' for it—don't always survive the experience. Goodness, the maternal death rate in the human world is..."

He stopped himself, glancing at his spouse. "But I wasn't talking about the act of popping out the nippers, actually. I was talking about deciding what to do."

"They keep it." Jase said, "To Christians at least, it is a 'gift from God'. I have seen and counseled so many expecting couples and women who weren't ready. But of course, my counsel on the topic back then was 'It is God's will'."

Chronus nodded and lowered his eyes. "Yes. The will of the divine doesn't have a care for this situation though, and I doubt it much cares for the situations of humans in the same pickle. Seems to me if it were any different, the powers that be would step down personally and say so."

He looked at his spouse again, and he felt some relief when Eric returned with the drinks, sitting on a tray. "Ah, it's about time," he remarked, snatching up his brandy through recognition of the smell and color alone.

Eric passed out the drinks, having made Alan a cup of hot chocolate, since he hadn't specified what he wanted. He set the tray down on the coffee table and for lack of room on the sofa; he took a seat in the armchair next to it and gave his husband's hand a squeeze across the way.

"Jase, I wanna ask ye somethin' an' I want ye tae think about it seriously. It's no' about how we feel or even how Chronus feels, but about how _ya_ feel. Unnerstand? No pressure."

"What is it?" he asked, looking up at Eric and taking a sip of his tea.

Eric took a swallow of his Scotch, and then he looked Jase in the eye. "Dun' think about how it came tae be here. Jus' ask yerself...could ya love it? Do ya feel anythin' fer it at all?"

He kept the question carefully neutral, but sincere. He didn't bother saying how he would feel or how he thought Alan would feel in the situation, nor did he call attention to Undertaker's uncommonly pensive expression.

"Of course I could!" Jase nearly snapped, feeling a hint of insult by the idea that he wouldn't love a child—his child.

"Take it easy, lad," soothed Eric. "I'm jus' asking so ye can get a good perspective, is all. How ya think of it makes all tha difference in tha world. Is it jus' an uninvited 'peanut' or something more? Ya wanted advice from us, an' tha's mine. Think about wha' it does an' could mean tae ya, before ya make any decisions."

"You're pouting." Alan chuckled, looking at Jase, "I don't think I have ever seen you pout before."

"I don't pout." Jase huffed, leaning against Chronus.

"Well, you are now. But Eric's right. Your own feelings are just as important as the facts."

Eric nodded, and he took another swallow of his drink before speaking again. "It's nice out t'night. Clear view o' tha stars an' a soft breeze. How 'bout we go ou'side an sit on tha porch for a while? A little fresh air might clear our heads."

"I rather like that idea," agreed Chronus with a nod. He looked at Jase. "What do you think, love?"

Jase gave a small nod, his tone apologetic. "But not too long. You and Eric have work in the morning, and you have to make up for leaving early today."

The two couples got up and made their way out to the dark porch. The cool breeze gently caressing their faces as the light from the thin crescent moon shown down on them, allowing the two dolls to be without their glasses.

The porch was furnished with only one bench for sitting, so Eric and Undertaker both sat down and pulled their respective husbands onto their laps.

Chronus again placed a protective hand over Jase's lower abdomen, without even realizing he was doing it. He kept his other arm around the doll and he somehow managed to bring his unfinished drink to his lips for a sip, leaning forward and squeezing Jase gently in the process. Realizing where his other hand was, he removed it and transferred the glass to it, so that he wouldn't inadvertently strangle his husband every time he took a sip.

"It really _is_ a nice evening," he commented, trying to make small talk with his companions. "Why, I can see the Milky Way clearly. Isn't that nice."

Eric nuzzled Alan's hair, not really paying attention to it. He planted a soft kiss under the brunet's ear, his breath fanning his skin. "Aye, it's nice."

Much like the Undertaker, he was trying to take his mind off the stunning news and what it could mean for Jase. He was worried about the boy—with good cause.

Jase sighed, leaning against his husband, his own hand finding its way to his lower belly as he turned his gaze upwards at the dark sky. Maybe…fate was finally giving them something good with this impossible little peanut…maybe it was a gift to make up for everything that had happened since the day Jase ceased being human. They had been talking of adoption, after all…they both did have that urge to be parents together…

"Oh, look! There's a shooting star!" Undertaker pointed at the darkened horizon, nearly spilling his drink in the process. He grinned at his husband, almost afraid to utter his next words. The frames of his glasses nudged Jase's cheek with the ancient's motions. "Make a wish, darlin'."

"A wish?" Jase looked back up at the stars and closed his eyes. His wish was simple; a wish for the strength to endure what the next few months would bring from whichever choice he made concerning the little peanut.

Chronus likewise made a similar wish; except his was to have the strength to accept whatever decision Jase made and be a good and supportive mate to him through it. Eric looked up and made a wish of his own, also concerning Jase. Now that he was getting over the shock of it, the Scotsman quietly hoped the lad would choose to keep it. He thought both he and Undertaker would make fine parents...but he didn't want to see the little Frenchman suffer, either way.

Eric stifled a yawn and he gave his husband one more kiss on the cheek. "I think I'm fer bed," he apologized. "Worked like a dog t'day an' I've go' another busy work day ahead o' me. Hurry up an' get through yer training, auld man, so I can have a good partner at mah side again. Tha one they've put me wi' in tha meantime sucks."

Chronus chuckled. "Are you so sure I'd be the ideal replacement? I could be slowing down in my advanced age."

"Nah, I've seen ya in th' field before," reminded Eric, "back before ya went rogue, remember? I think ya must have helped us out three or four times wi' reaping, when we go' so backed up we needed tha hand."

He looked at Alan. "Remember tha', Al? He reaped _two_ targets at tha same bloody time, th' last time! They still talk abou' tha' one now an' then. Jase, yer man's a legend fer a reason. 'S no wonder tha boss was so thrilled tae convince him tae come back. I reckon one collection day'll make tha board forget all abou' him skipping ou' early on his first day in tha office."

Undertaker snorted. "Provided I can get out to reap anything soon. I'll have you chaps know my husband still comes first, though. If Jase has an emergency, I'm going to be at his side. If the board doesn't like it, they can kiss my shiny white bum."

"Nearly everyone wants you back." Alan said, "Including the high council. They approached me the other day. They seemed excited for your return and then they asked if I would as well. I had to turn them down for obvious reasons, but I told them I need a more relaxing life. Maybe get a job at a flower shop."

"You're thinking of working again, Alan?" Jase asked.

"Well, I can't sit at home all day while Eric's out at work. It'd give me something to do, plus it'd help with our household funds."

"An' I'll support whatever he wants tae do," Eric said with a grin. "I think he'd be really good wi' gardening an' flower arrangements. He's go' a knack fer it."

He yawned again, and he gently nudged Alan off his lap so he could get up and stretch. "I'll finish his off and wash th' glass," he said with a nod at his drink. "Sorry tae bow out on ye all so early, but I might pass out if I stay up any longer."

He kissed Alan and he ruffled Jase's hair affectionately on the way to the door. "It's gonna be a'right, Jase. We'll all look after ya, no matter wha' ya decide tae do. G'night, all."

"Night, chap," answered Chronus, content to sit for a while longer with his spouse. "Alan, you're welcome to stay and chat with us as long as you like, if you aren't ready for bed yet."

"Goodnight, Eric. And please do take care to word things better when you talk about things you and I do together." Jase teased as the man walked to the door and opened it.

"For all of our sakes." Alan smirked. "I'll join you in a little while, Love."

Eric winked. "See ya then, sweetheart. I'll warm up tha bed fer ya."

He left them then, going inside to finish off his drink and clean out the glass, before heading upstairs to the guest room and unpacking his boxers to sleep in. He sighed as he changed into them and climbed into bed. "Poor lad," he murmured. Still, he could easily picture Jase and Undertaker as parents. With the doll's gentle nature and the ancient's love for children, the kid would grow up better cared for than most in this world.

Eric put his glasses on the nightstand and he sprawled over the bed to distribute his body heat on both sides, not kidding about warming it up for his spouse. He closed his eyes and he wondered if Jase could really carry a pregnancy safely to term._  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>-To be continued<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning Jase awoke to morning sickness again, abandoning his husband's cool embrace for the bathroom. Though, at least he knew why, this time. Which was an early reminder of the little peanut inside his magically appearing womb.

A baby… Chronus' baby…his baby…

Now that he'd had the time to calm down about finding out his inner body decided to play mommy, he knew he couldn't give the little peanut up. There was no way that he could. Even as he found himself bent over a toilet in the early morning.

"You know, you could be nicer to me, Peanut…" he muttered as he flushed the toilet and moved to the sink to wash his face.

Chronus heard the sounds of his spouse's misery down the hall, and he mumbled sleepily and opened his eyes. "Jase?" He sat up, blinking away sleep as he checked the clock. His alarm was due to go off in around five minutes. He smirked. He could theoretically use Jase's morning sickness as his alarm for work...provided he chose to keep the baby.

He was just about to get out of bed to check on him when Jase came back in, rubbing his eyes and looking adorable and mussed. Now that he thought of it, Undertaker noticed the 'glow' about him. Funny how someone who just got finished chucking could be so darling. He smiled at the uncomfortable doll and he tugged the covers down for him, patting the bed.

"Come lie down against me," he coaxed. "I've got time before I need to be up and about, getting ready for work."

"Did I wake you? Jase asked with a sleepy voice, crawling into the bed and curling up with Undertaker—almost cat-like as he closed his eyes, "I'm sorry. Of course…it's just as much Peanut's fault…not letting his mama sleep…"

Chronus grinned, hope stirring within him. "Ah, well...little peanuts can be demanding on their mum's. But when they're born, the daddy's can help with that burden."

He tried not to sound pushy or overly hopeful, but he couldn't help but try and remind Jase that the burden of this would not always be on him once the baby came...if he chose to have it. He stroked his hair and kissed his forehead, wondering what sort of prenatal care the Frenchman might require to stay healthy and fit.

"Too bad daddy can't take over the morning sickness part…" Jase yawned, "That'd make this easier…"

"He would if he could," assured the ancient. His strokes slowed and he spoke a bit hesitantly. "Does this mean you're considering keeping it, love?"

"'m not 'considering'." The Frenchman mumbled sleepily.

"So then you've decided you are?" pressed Chronus, practically holding his breath.

"Mm'hmm…" came the already half-asleep reply from the reaper's spouse.

Chronus hugged him impulsively and rocked him, closing his eyes with relief. He didn't really believe Jase would get rid of it if he took time to think on it, but it was a hard burden to expect him to bear, too. He reached out with one hand and hit the button on the alarm before it could so much as peep when he noticed it was about to go off, and he held his husband for a while, his senses awash with all sorts of emotions he couldn't even begin to describe.

No, he never would have pictured himself actually being a father, as much as he liked children. It seemed since Jase entered his life though, he was discovering all sorts of things about himself.

* * *

><p>Eric had already helped himself to the kitchen and was cooking breakfast when Chronus came down to join him, whistling. Seeing the chipper look on the ancient's face and the spring in his step, the Scotsman grinned.<p>

"So are ye gonna be a Da?"

Undertaker nodded and snatched up a piece of bacon that was laying out with its fellows, waiting to be transferred to plates. "Yes indeed," he chirped, before taking a bite of the crispy strip and munching it.

"Tha' makes me glad," said Eric sincerely, "but I do worry about tha risks tae him."

"I'll research with the doctors in my spare time, to find out every possible means of helping him through it safely," assured Chronus. "Shouldn't be all that different from a woman's pregnancy, except for the most obvious difference."

"Let's hope so." Eric plated up the toast, followed by the bacon. "Din't notice any juice in yer fridge. Do ya mind me pouring meself a glass of milk?"

"Not at all. I think I'll have one too." Undertaker went to do just that. "Where's your hubby? Still sleeping in?"

"Aye, he stayed up late worrying o'er Jase, I think. I jus' left him tae sleep in, an' he can keep Jase company while we're at work. I've got a feelin' he was planning tae do tha' anyhow."

Chronus nodded and joined him at the dining table to eat. "I'm going to be a papa," he said un-necessarily, grinning. "Oh bugger...I hope I'm up to the task."

Eric chuckled and buttered his toast. "From wha' I unnerstand, most men rarely are. Ye've go' a way wi' the wee ones, though. I'm sure ye'll do fine."

* * *

><p>"You're keeping it?" Alan asked as he plated up a late breakfast for himself and Jase, including eggs on Jase's plate since the Frenchman was pregnant. Jase couldn't taste it, and Alan's own sense of taste had faded quite a bit after awakening as a doll, but he could still get a hint of the flavor unlike Jase.<p>

The two had both slept in until nine that morning, Alan arising nearly fifteen minuets before Jase, allowing him time to shower before him and then starting on breakfast while Jase showered.

Jase nodded, picking up his fork, "I can't allow this little gift to die without a chance… It's mine…and it's Chronus'."

"Have you told Daddy, then?" Alan asked, sitting down to his own meal.

"I think so…but I can't remember if I was actually awake or just dreaming it." Jase shrugged, "I woke up briefly due to Peanut making me run to the bathroom."

"Well, if Daddy acts funny when you go see him for his lunch break, you can tell him again for real this time. If he acts like he knows he's going to be a daddy, then you don't have to and you can focus on other things."

"I don't know…if he does know, the whole dispatch might know already. I may find out just by walking into the building."

* * *

><p>Chronus found one downside to the happy news that he was going to be a father; it distracted him. He was having trouble concentrating on his paperwork and he sighed when he made his fourth mistake in a row.<p>

"Come on, old chap," he muttered under his breath, "focus. Can't provide for the family if you can't even fill out basic report forms."

"Is everything okay with Jase?" Ronald asked from across the room, "You had to leave early yesterday and now you seem really distracted…and you typed in the word 'peanut' in the time of death slot on a report you just emailed over to me to check over."

Undertaker blinked. "Did I?" He got out of his chair and looked at Ronald's screen. "Oh, bugger. Sorry chap. I'm just a bit giddy. Turns out the doctors found something we weren't expecting when they examined Jase yesterday, and it's got my head a-whirl. You know, I think I'd do much better in the field. Gathering records is really my forte, so what's say we put the paperwork on hold and go out to do our reaping early? I can almost guarantee I'll be more focused after collecting a few souls, and my paperwork will be a good sight better afterwards. I've never done well starting the day with filing, anyhow."

"What did they find?" Ron asked, changing 'peanut' to the correct information and saving, "That he's allergic to nuts, yet is still with you?" he jabbed playfully.

Rather than being offended, Undertaker cackled with appreciation for the joke. "Ah, good one. Well, you're going to find this hard to swallow, but I'm going to be a father. My Jase is having a peanut...I mean baby. Looked like a peanut on the ultrasound, so we've been calling it that."

He shrugged, but he couldn't contain his grin. The more he thought about it, the happier it made him...now that he knew Jase planned to carry through with it.

"You're naming a poor kid Peanut? –Wait, why am I asking that first—he's having a baby? But I thought he had a penis, not a….baby-maker!" Ron blinked at the tall elder in shock. It was impossible, wasn't it? Unless Jase was really a woman with a really flat chest and who preferred slacks… "Is…Jase really a Jaslyn? I was thinking all this time that you were both men…"

"We're not naming it 'Peanut'," assured the mortician with a giggle. "It's just what we've been calling it since we found out about it, and yes, Jase is still as male as you and I. Long story short; being infused with holy fire allowed us to conceive without realizing it was possible. Seeing as angels are capable of changing their gender when it suits them, Jase's body did a little trick and grew him a womb. I s'pose the holy fire in him was spurred by the fire lingering in me. That's the best explanation I can give, chap. Jase is still a man, regardless."

Ronald blinked, his stunned expression obvious. "But…he's a guy…who's pregnant…a man..? Man—I am never getting close to a halo-wearing feather-brain again! How's Jase taking the news?"

"He's stunned, like myself," sighed Chronus. He took his seat at his own desk again. "We considered the option of having it removed, but he's decided to keep it and try to carry to term. There's still a lot to learn about it and we'll have to keep a close eye on him, but I'm hopeful it'll all work out. I'll have a chat with him about it at lunch and we can see about setting him up with regular appointments with Dr. Skies to keep him in tip-top shape."

"Man…" Ron reclined back in his chair, propping his feet up on an open filing drawer of his desk, "Heh, Imagine…Legendary Death marching along the halls of dispatch with a baby on his hip…" he chuckled, the pointed at the older reaper, "But you gotta get your head in the right place. Paperwork has to get done and it can't have you typing in 'peanut' or 'baby' in randomly."

Undertaker inclined his head. "Agreed, chap. That's why I suggested we do our reaping first today and the paperwork afterwards. I think it might help." He shrugged. "But that's up to you."

"Our reaps are set for particular times. We can switch lists with someone else, but that's another stack of paperwork. Are you willing to do that?"

"Indeed I am," chuckled the mortician. "I just need to do something a bit more familiar...something that comes more naturally to my dodgy old self than paperwork. Once I get it out of my system I'm sure I'll manage the reports better. Even as a funeral director, I was never the best at paperwork."

"Then I'll see if anyone is willing to trade. Continue your paperwork until then." Ronald nodded, bringing up the death assignments for the day up onto his screen and jotting down possible reapers to ask about trading.

After making calls around the office, Ronald finally got a team to trade with him. Thanking them, he hung up and walked over to Undertaker as their phones bleeped with a tone to notify them of the change in collections.

"We have four collections. But it's going to cut into our normal lunch hour so we'll be taking lunch late."

"That'd be fine," agreed the ancient. "I'll just ring up Jase and let him know not to come visit me for lunch at the normal time."

He chose to use the office phone on his desk, rather than the portable one in his suit jacket pocket. He dialed home on it and he waited for a while. It took several rings before the doll picked up on the other line, and he guessed he'd caught him in a moment of morning sickness by the slightly hoarse quality of his voice.

"Hullo, darlin'. It's just me. I tele'd you to let you know I'll be having lunch late today, so if you're planning to come to the office to spend my lunch hour with me, best wait 'till I have a time to give you. How are you feeling?"

"Like the toilet is the only thing on earth that understands me…" The expecting mother responded, "Alan ran out a little bit ago to get something to hopefully help settle my stomach….what time will you be taking lunch?"

"I'm not sure yet," admitted Chronus, "but I'll give you a ring when I have a set time. Sorry you're feeling sick, love. If it's anything like other pregnancies, you ought to stop feeling the urge to chuck in the mornings around the second trimester...and then you won't be able to get enough to eat."

He chuckled. "Any particular food preferences we ought to stock up on? I hear the baby determines what mummy craves, most of the time."

"How would I know? I'm used to simply undercooked meat. But knowing it's your baby, it may have a fondness for cookies and sweets."

Undertaker laughed at that. "Seems it already does. That was what started worrying me in the first place. Well, my love, I would love to sit and chat with you some more but Ronnie's eyeballing me and I've got paperwork to make up for, so just try to stay off your feet, sip some water and let Alan take care of you. If you're not feeling up to crossing realms today for lunch, don't feel pressed to. I'll call you when I have a time and we'll see how you feel then, yeah?"

"Alright. Have fun at work, and enjoy yourself responsibly. I'll speak with you again later, if not see you for lunch." Jase spoke, "_Je t'aime_."

"Love you too, pet. I'll see you at lunch...or when I get home from work, if you find you aren't up for coming in for lunch."

He hung up with a sigh and put the phone back onto its cradle, before diving back into this paperwork. Just speaking with his husband for a moment did some good for his concentration, and he snorted. "I'm going to be such a ninny," he predicted.

He feared he might drive poor Jase insane, hovering over him throughout this pregnancy. He couldn't help but worry about him; but Jase had been very supportive about his decision to return to Dispatch, and he didn't want to take that for granted and do a piss-poor job. Much as he despised learning the data entry system and filling out forms, he did it because it was a part of being a Dispatch agent...and it meant more income to support his growing family.

He was still the Undertaker, after all. Laughter alone couldn't pay the bills, though.

* * *

><p>Chronus checked his watch as he finished reaping his second target. "Hmm...still a bit slow compared to my usual work," he mused—though "slow" for him was still record time for most others. There were two things in life he was a perfectionist about, and those were reaping and performing autopsies. If he wasn't doing either of them to his satisfaction, he felt he was letting himself down. He gathered the last reel and he sighed.<p>

"Needs some improvement, but not too terribly slow."

He went to the agreed location to meet back up with his temporary partner, standing beneath Big Ben and out of the rain that had begun coming down. He waited for nearly thirty minutes, before Ronald approached. He grinned and waved at the younger reaper. "There you are," he greeted when Ronald hurried over to get out of the rain. "Nice, proper British weather, eh?"

"Nasty today…" Ronald sighed, his suit and hair dripping as he looked like he'd gone for a swim in the bay. "I feel like a drowned rat…the downpour hit right as I was in the middle of my collection and no where near shelter." He ran a soaked gloved hand through his hair, slicking it back and squeezing the water out, which resulted in a more William-ish hairstyle.

"Terribly uncomfortable," guessed the mortician with a nod. "But my goodness, do you ever remind me of your husband right now. Do an impersonation, Ronnie. I think you know Chilly Willy well enough by now to pull it off."

"What?" Confused, Ronald frowned at the reaper until he caught sight of his reflection in a window, "…Oh…" He laughed, "I don't know… I haven't poked fun at his personality since before we got together!"

He paused and took a deep breath, furrowing his eyebrows and giving his features a sour look as he pretended to adjust his glasses, "We don't have the time to be fooling around making jokes, Mister Undertaker. Laughter has no place on the job and I expect a legendary man like you to understand that—lest I be forced to give you a pay cut! What? Why are you laughing? What did I just say, sir? No laughing!"

Undertaker made a valiant effort to contain his laughter, but as always, he failed utterly. He clapped in appreciation, thoroughly enjoying the show. "Well done, my lad...well done! Oh my, I think I need a tissue!"

He wiped at his eyes, still chuckling with mirth. "I'd ask what a chipper fellow like you ever saw in such a stick in the mud, but I've got to admit your Willy does has his good points. My own sweet dollie can be a bit of a pill at times, too."

He cleared his throat and he did his best to put on an innocent face, widening his eyes and batting his lashes. "But Chronus, that would be so dirty! You pervert! Why must you treat everything like a dirty joke!"

Ronald laughed, "Does he really say that? In private? Private is when you can be as dirty as you wanna be! Even Will knows that!" He cleared his throat again and put back on his 'William expression' "Knox! Lock that door, bend over the desk and drop your slacks this instant! Don't make this rougher than it has to be!"

"Oh my," snickered the Undertaker. "Seems your other half has an even naughtier side than I suspected!"

He formed the portal back to Headquarters. "Mine has his little moments, too. I think I put that bun in his oven when he wore his 'naughty nurse' outfit for me. Oh, mercy."

He fanned himself, grinning with fond recollection as he thought of the encounter. "That sweet little bum in those lacy panties. I'm a terrible fiend for talking about it, but my, does my Jase blush so delightfully when he's being a bad lil' chap for me."

"I could see him like that. He was a priest, right? I'd expect one as pure as him to be sexually awkward…but then again, he's with you. You could have stomped that right out of him quickly, I imagine, seeing as you got him in bed with you."

Undertaker chuckled, gesturing at the portal. "It wasn't so easy. After you, chap."

"Technically the trainee goes back through the portals first…but You aren't just any trainee." Ron shrugged, more to himself as he stepped through the portal.

Undertaker joined him and resumed talking once they were on the other side, not realizing that Ronald's office was occupied. "I've been wondering, Ronnie; does Willy's hair ever muss, or does he use some sort of adhesive to make every strand stay perfectly in place? I...er...oh." He grinned sheepishly at William T. Spears and Jase. "Hullo there. Didn't know we had visitors."

William cleared his throat. "To answer your question, Chronus, I do make use of styling product to keep an orderly appearance. We can't all be content to wear a mop on our heads."

"Nope. Will's is only a mop in the shower, in bed, and through most of our honeymoon!" Ron grinned, walking over to kiss his husband's cheek, "You aren't here on extra paper-work assigning business, are you, Will?"

"Not today," answered the brunet. "I saw Mr. Dubois in the hallway and decided to join him. He is here to have lunch with his husband and I thought you and I could do the same. Your timing is impeccable."

Chronus approached his little spouse and bent over to give him a smooch on the lips. "Glad you could make it, love. Sorry if we kept you waiting. I might have been a tad bit off with my prediction of when we'd be finished for our late lunch."

"You didn't take into account that I'm not as fast as you are." Ronald shrugged, "Let me go get into a dry suit before we take lunch, though! No one wants to dine with a drowned rat." He turned to grab his spare suit he kept in the office as all officers were required. One never knew when they may need it after a field assignment, and they had to stay looking professional.

"Oh!" Ron turned back and smiled at Jase, "And congratulations. Chronus told me all about Peanut."

Jase flushed as the blond disappeared to change. "Why aren't you soaked?" He asked his husband.

"I managed to get under shelter before the downpour started," answered Chronus with a shrug. "Knox wasn't so lucky."

William watched his husband go into the small changing room to put on his spare suit. "There are worse things to be covered in than rain." He frowned at Jase and Undertaker. "What was that about a peanut?"

Undertaker laughed in delight and put an arm around his spouse, hugging him close. "We're having a peanut...er...a baby. That was what the emergency call from the doctor was all about, yesterday."

One elegant brow lifted. "I...see. Actually, I don't see. It's preposterous and your joke is in poor taste, sir."

"It's not a joke, chap," insisted Chronus. "Impossible as it sounds, the holy fire in both of us is what made it happen. Jase's body made just enough adjustments for us to have a bit of an 'oops', and now we're expecting."

William regarded him warily, then looked at Jase. "Is your husband telling the truth? With him, I can never be certain."

"Trust me, at first I thought he'd put Doctor Skies and her staff up to a prank…but it's true." Jase nodded, "Chronus has somehow turned me into an expecting mother…and I have decided to keep it now that I'm over the blunt of the shock the news gave me. Eric and Alan helped us through the shock—though I think Eric is still quite shocked himself."

"So I would imagine," murmured William in a mystified tone. "Well then, I suppose congratulations are in order." He shook both their hands, his stoicism the only thing keeping his many questions at bay. He was sure the couple had already been bombarded with questions to begin with, and he didn't want to be rude.

"I just realized something," Chronus said after shaking William's offered hand. He grinned down at Jase. "Slingby thinks of you like a son, so this would make him a sort of grandfather!"

He started to laugh, imagining the look on the Scotsman's face when he figured that bit out.

"Well, I'm sure he can simply be our child's 'Uncle Eric' more than 'Grandpapa' Jase chuckled, "Eric isn't my actual father, after all. "

"Okay, one dry and incredibly sexy husband in a suit is ready for his lunch date!" Ronald announced, walking back in and hanging up his wet suit to dry before strolling over to William and slipping his arms around him. "Where are we eating today, love?"

"I was considering sushi," answered William, "but if we are all going together, that might not sit well on Mr. Dubois' stomach. I am open for suggestions."

"Isn't there a place nearby that serves steak?" questioned Undertaker. "We could order Jase's rare."

William nodded. "Indeed. It's a few blocks further than the sushi bar, but I know of a restaurant with a good lunch menu that could accommodate that. I'll drive."

"Sounds good to me." Ronald shrugged, then leaned over to Jase, "Will only likes taking me to Asian places to watch me fail at chopsticks. Forks get my vote."

"And food I can taste gets mine." Jase chuckled, "Come on, we have five mouths to feed here."

* * *

><p>Undertaker ordered the steak extra rare for his husband, and for himself he ordered the pheasant. William and Ronald made their orders and when the food came, the mortician watched with bemusement as Jase dug in with a sharper appetite than usual.<p>

"My, my...the peanut really is giving you the munchies, isn't it?" He grinned at him. "I'm usually the one scarfing down the food that way, love."

"He still eats with better table manners than you do, sir," reminded William. He drizzled some dressing over his side salad.

"You haven't seen him bite into an angel, chap," countered Undertaker.

Jase flushed, slowing down the speed in which he'd been cutting and eating his meal, "Eating doesn't satisfy my hunger, it simply helps with my self control around questionable humans. The Peanut, on the other hand…he or she may need food for the nutrition value." He argued his point, "Which is probably why I actually feel hungry when food is offered." He popped another cut of meat into his mouth.

Chronus put an arm around him for a brief hug. "Don't pay me any mind. I think it's cute when your cheeks puff out when you stuff your face, and you've got a better excuse than I do. Eat as much as you need, darlin'. I won't pick on you anymore."

Finding the subject of a pregnant male entirely too odd, William tried to keep up polite conversation. "I understand you put the name 'Peanut' on one of your death reports this morning, Chronus. Now I believe I understand why."

The mortician pinkened slightly and shrugged, taking a drink of his iced tea. "The nickname just stuck, and I was still trying to wrap my head around it all. It just happened to come to light right after I started work, but I'll get my head settled soon and make up for the boo-boos."

William dabbed his lips with a napkin to hide the threat of a smile. "I'm sure you will, Chronus. Fortunately, your performance in the field today did indeed make up for the...er...'boo-boos'. Ronald assures me you had your targets reaped and collected in record time that hasn't been matched since before you retired."

Chronus shrugged. "That was always my strong point. I hate to break it to you, but I'll probably never be all that good with the paperwork."

"We each have our strengths." William sipped his wine. "I'm sure you will adjust and do well, once the preliminaries are finished."

"And not have too many redos on your reports that I have to go through." Ron smirked, stealing his husband's wine and sipping it.

"We were both in shock, I suppose. I was carving earlier today and accidently carved a baby rather than a rose onto a vase." Jase said, taking another bite.

Chronus stared at him for a moment, and then he smiled brightly. "Did you, love?"

His delight was obvious, and he couldn't seem to contain it. At first he thought that Jase was only keeping the baby because he couldn't morally justify getting rid of it. The emotions he'd sensed from him had been too erratic to interpret, and his own shocked emotions got in the way as well. Now every little gesture his husband made that hinted at excitement over the pregnancy made him feel more at ease...more confident that he hadn't done something terrible to him by accident. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but he thought that he detected something else from him. Was it fondness for their little 'peanut'?

"Yes, and Alan had to point it out. I had to change the over-all theme of the vase, and now it's lined with roses and babies on roses….put a stork up at the top as well."

"I'd like to have a look at it, when I get home tonight." Chronus took a bite of potato, then another bite of quail.

"Well, it seems things are turning out nicely for you both," observed William for lack of anything else to say. "And how has Mr. Humphries been? I haven't had the opportunity to speak with him since we returned from our Honeymoon."

"He's been fine. Been looking into opening up his own flower shop in Reaper London." Jase stated, "He's asked me to make some custom vases for the shop once he gets things going."

"Well, I'm not surprised." Ron grinned, "He likes flowers and knows a lot about them. I think he'd go good in that business."

"Seems he's started planting flower beds in the back at their townhouse," remarked Chronus. "Only trouble is they've got noisy neighbors, and some of the species he wants to grow are sensitive to sound. Slingby's managed to get them to stop playing that noise they call music late at night, but he's told me they still like to play it during the day."

William raised a brow. "How can sound trouble a plant? They have no ears."

The mortician chuckled. "Right, but they've got other sensory parts, and sound waves travel through the air. Soft, classical music can even help some plants grow better, chap...but I've heard what those blokes next door to their townhouse like to play and it's enough to make _me_ want to shrivel up, myself."

"Perhaps when he locates an ideal venue to start with, he can put together a greenhouse inside or connected to it for growing his flowers," suggested William.

Undertaker nodded. "Yes, but he'll need something to start out with. That reminds me, Jase, I was thinking of offering up some gardening space on our plot of land for him. Since the Slingphries were so helpful to us, I've got no bones about lending some dirt to him in the nice, quiet country. Could even help him put up a separate greenhouse for his pretties in my spare time. What do you think of that?"

Jase finished chewing and swallowed before responding, "That'd be fine. I actually had planned to speak with you about it later tonight.

"Good then...we're on the same page." Having nothing left to really say on the matter and still quite hungry, Chronus dug in with vigor.

* * *

><p><strong>-To be continued<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

Later that evening, Eric dragged himself out of the hot shower he'd been enjoying to answer the phone. His husband was out back, working on the little garden he'd started, having chosen a more hearty variety of flowers to start off with in some pots. Grumbling at the interruption, the Scotsman quickly towel-dried his hair before draping said towel around his waist. He made a dash for the home phone charging on the wall in the kitchen, assuming it must be one of Alan's friends, Jase or Chronus calling that line.

"H'llo?"

"Evening, chap," greeted the Undertaker's voice from the other end. "I was wondering if I might have a word with your better half. Jase and I have an offer to make him that might help him get his business up and running easier, 'till he finds a locale to set up permanent shop."

Eric brushed his damp bangs out of his eyes and he carried the phone towards the back door. "Aye, hold up a minute an' I'll get him fer ya. Ye've go' tha worse timing in tha world, auld man."

"Oh?" He could practically hear the grin in his voice. "Did I interrupt something saucy?"

Eric snorted. "No' unless ya consider a shower 'saucy'." He opened the door and he called out to his mate, admiring the sight of his bum as Alan bent over a pot to sow some seeds. "Ye've go' a phone call, love. It's Chronus. Says he's go' an offer fer ya."

"One second." Alan called back, standing up and brushing off his knees with his gloved hands. He turned to walk over to where Eric was standing with the phone, his forehead, above his left eye, smudged with dirt where he'd subconsciously scratched an itch while working.

Alan pulled one dirty gardening glove off his hand and took the phone, "Thank you. Hello?" he asked, putting the receiver up to his ear.

"Hi, hi," greeted Undertaker. "I hope everything's going well so far with your plans, lad. I thought I'd call and extend a bit of an invitation on behalf of myself and Jase. Long story short, we've got some space out here for gardening and I thought you might like to make use of that—at least for the plants what can grow outside the Shinigami realm. Dollie and I talked about it and we've both agreed we've got plenty of room for an extra greenhouse, to help you get your business started. What do you say, Alan?"

Alan blinked in surprise, "Are you sure? I mean, that would be great and very helpful since out yard is so small, but you two have a lot going on in your lives right now." He pointed out, not wanting to interfere with the growing family.

"Trust me lad, we wouldn't feel right about not lending you a bit of a hand after all you and Eric have done for us, and I'm sure Jase would appreciate the company while I'm away at work. Besides, I happen to enjoy gardening in my spare time."

"Well then, I accept your offer. Thank you—and share my thanks with Jase as well. How about Eric and I go over there this weekend to plan out with you two where I can begin working?"

"That'd be fine, m'dear," assured the mortician. "We'll have the guest room set up for you. Take care of your Celt and make sure he doesn't kill those pesky neighbors of yours and end up behind bars in the meantime, yeah?"

Alan glanced at Eric and smirked slightly, "Easier said than done once the sun starts to go down."

Eric's brow lifted. "Talkin' about me, love?"

Undertaker heard through the phone and he chuckled. "He's not as block-headed as I thought. We'll see you both on the weekend, Alan. Have a nice evening."

"Yes, we'll see you then." Alan nodded, hanging up the phone, "And yes, I was talking about you." He said, handing the phone back to Eric.

* * *

><p>The weekend approached and Undertaker thoughtfully picked up cords of lumber and materials for the construction of the new greenhouse. Eric and Alan arrived via portal Friday night, after both Undertaker and Eric got off work. They started on the greenhouse right away, and Eric came close to knocking himself out on a beam when he straightened up too fast under the frame they'd put together.<p>

"Ah, bloody _hell_ groaned the Scotsman, rubbing his smarting skull.

"Told you to mind your head, mate," chided Chronus with a grunt as he brought more wood over and set it down. Their spouses were currently inside getting dinner ready, since none of them wanted Jase to do any heavy lifting. Alan came out now and then to help, but he didn't want to leave Jase to do all the cooking alone, so he divided his attention between assisting with the green house and helping with dinner.

Said brunet was coming back out of the cottage to check on them, and he picked up his pace a bit when he noticed his husband rubbing his head.

"What happened?!" Alan gasped, running over to Eric and pulling him down so that he could examine his head, worried. "—You need ice. Come with me, it's already forming a bump."

"I'm fine, sweetheart," Eric tried to assure him; but he was being steadily dragged away from the frame of the greenhouse they'd constructed so far. He laughed and shrugged helplessly at Undertaker, who simply waved at him and kept working. "It's jus' a lil' bump…"

But he loved it when Alan fawned over him like this. He found it too cute to resist, and he couldn't stop himself from grinning as he was practically manhandled into the cottage. Jase was busily overseeing the casserole he'd just put into the oven and Eric gave him a sheepish grin as his husband directed him to the refrigerator.

"Hit mah head," he offered in explanation. "I've go' a hard one though, so…_ouch_!"

His sentence ended in a surprised yelp of protest when Alan dug out some icecubes while he was speaking, wrapped them in a dishcloth and unceremoniously pressed it against the back of his head. "Easy there, Alan! Mah head's no' _tha'_ hard!"

"Don't be a baby, Eric. That role is officially being taken. And I'm being gentle." Alan said, "You're lucky it's only a bump and that you aren't bleeding."

"I could help…" Jase pointed out, setting down the dish towel he was using to clean the counters, and moving over to help Alan.

"Eric's head will heal quickly with just ice." Alan insisted, "No need for you to increase your body heat for it."

"Aye, never mind me, lad," agreed the tall blond reaper with a wince. "Al jus' likes tae bully me around." He chuckled and winked at his spouse when the brunet gave him a scolding look. "Love ya."

Alan kissed Eric's forehead, "Someone has to make sure your head doesn't get too big." He pointed out in a loving tone. "I'll go out and help Chronus, but I want you to stay here and rest for a bit with Jase."

"I s'pose I'll be in fer some trouble if I try tae say 'no'," predicted Eric with a grin. "Make sure tha auld lunatic doesnae keep goin' after we lose wha's left o' tha daylight, though. I've noticed th' man gets too fixated at times an' he'll be up all night building tha' greenhouse if we dun' set down limits."

He held the icepack against his head and he looked over at Jase. "Anythin' I can help ya wi', Jase? Are ya feelin' a'right, or should ya sit down fer a while?"

"If he tries to work all night I'll insist on helping. That will bring him inside quick." Jase chuckled as Alan hurried back outside. "Dinner just needs to cook, now." He added, sitting across from Eric, "So there isn't much to do for a while other than checking on it."

"A'right." The Scotsman took a seat across from Jase, still holding the icepack to his head. "So have ya thought up any names fer tha bairn yet? I know it's too soon tae tell whether it's a lad or a lass, but if ya need any name suggestions, maybe Al an' I could help."

It was still so strange to him to think of the small Frenchman as pregnant, but the last thing Jase needed was for any of them to treat him or his condition as abnormal. Eric wasn't a particularly spiritual man, but he did believe in fate and he did believe things happened for a reason. The more he considered it, the more he thought Jase would make a great parent. Undertaker too, really. Jase was kind and nurturing and it was no secret that his husband was fond of the wee ones.

"I—" Jase's face heated, "Peanut will need a real name…won't it?" It was obvious Jase hadn't quite realized yet that they would need to think of names for the baby. In a way it was still so surreal to him that there was a baby at all.

Eric chuckled in spite of himself, and he nodded. "I imagine it will. Cute as it is fer ye tae keep callin' it 'peanut', that kid's gonna resent ya both if it has tae go through life answering tae tha'."

He reached across the table and patted Jase's hand supportively. "Ye've go' plenty of time tae come up wi' something, Jase. Like I said; Alan an' I can help ya come up wi' a list of baby names while we're visiting. I'm actually worried about wha' Chronus might come up wi' as a name if ya leave it all up tae him. He'd prolly name it after a body part or somethin'. I know ya dun' want a son or daughter named 'spleen'."

"Or 'femur'." Jase nodded. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, "I never expected to have a child, so I never put any thoughts into names. My parents named me after my grandfather—but I wouldn't want to honor my father by naming my son after him. He wasn't the kind of father any child should have—and Chronus doesn't have a father as far as I know. He was the first reaper I believe, if I understand his past correctly. And what if it's a girl? How do people even name girls? Do they name them after older family members as well or is that a boy thing?" he frowned.

Eric shrugged. "Works both ways, I think. I'm no expert on tha subject, though. Maybe we could pick ya up one o' those baby books wi' names in 'em, if it'll help. Din't ye have a lady friend wi' kids of her own? Joyce er somethin'? If ya know where she lives, maybe ya could drop in fer a visit an' ask her advice. Say yer adopting or somethin', or say ye've go' a friend expecting a baby an' they're havin' trouble wi' names."

"Joyelle? I haven't seen her in years, and the more time goes by the more she'll notice that I haven't aged a day since we last saw each other. And she's not very fond of Chronus. At least, she doesn't trust him much. It'd be difficult to talk to her about something like this. She has a talent for seeing through lies. So maybe a book would be best."

"Hmm, shame ye've got tae avoid her like that," sighed Eric. "I know how close ya were. Well, tha book will have tae do, then. I'm sure between tha four of us, we'll find a name ya both like, before th' baby arrives."

"It's just easier than trying to explain why I look to be around the same age that her children are by now." He flushed and placed a hand on his belly, "It's a strange feeling, knowing I don't age like I used to…and I suspect it'll be stranger when this baby grows up…"

"I see wha' ya mean," said Eric thoughtfully. "Tha's why we're always told no' tae care about humans too much. We stay young an' they eventually pass on. But yer kid'll be part reaper, an' yer no' a regular human anymore. Maybe he or she wun' grow old like ordinary humans."

He immediately wished he hadn't called attention to the fact that Jase was outside the norm when he saw the crestfallen look on his face. He couldn't tell if the look was because of the reminder of his unique-ness or the bit about watching people he cared for grow old and die—possibly even his own child. He reached out to pat his hand again. "Och, dinnae listen tae me. I thought an outfit was tae blame fer ya getting' pregnant, fer tha love o' death."

"But it's a good point." Jase pointed out, "Reapers don't have children. This baby will be the first. We don't have any idea on how he or she will grow up."

Eric gave him an encouraging smile. "Tha kid's special, no doubt 'bout tha', but if it comes out anything like its mother I think it'll do jus' fine in tha world."

"I hope so." Jase smiled, looking down at his still flat belly, "I want this baby to have the best chances."

Chronus came in with Alan then, shaking his smarting hand. He'd managed to hurt himself after making fun of Eric for bumping his head—which probably served him right. "The top of my bloody hammer slid right off," he complained as he walked into the kitchen and bent over to kiss the top of Jase's head. "I was hammering in a nail and next thing I knew, the head flew off and smashed into my poor old hand. Any ice left, darlin'?"

"Stop hurting yourselves!" Jase said, getting up to get some ice for his husband, taking his hand and gently pressing the ice packet on his hand, "It's a greenhouse, not a black-and-blue-house."

The ancient burst into laughter at that, and Eric joined him. "We aren't beating ourselves up on purpose," assured Chronus between snickers. "Ouch."

"Bet ya were talkin' yer head off instead of paying attention," guessed Eric. He looked at his spouse and winked. "Am I warm, Alan?"

"It may be my fault. I asked him if he and Jase have discussed baby names and that's when the hammer went flying." Alan said.

"You and Eric are on the same mental wave-length." Jase chuckled, "He asked me the same thing."

"Great minds think alike," said Eric with a nod.

"You know, I've been thinking of it as 'Peanut' since this whole thing started and it just didn't dawn on me that it's going to need a name-name," mused Undertaker. He lifted the ice pack for a moment to check his hand, and then his gaze went to Jase's belly. "I wouldn't know where to begin, to be honest."

"Tha's why I suggested one o' those baby name books." Eric took his ice pack off his head, feeling like the swelling had gone down enough. "And we could give some suggestions, too."

"They have time." Alan chuckled, moving to check on their dinner, "We should get cleaned up and set the table soon. This will be done in roughly fifteen minuets."

* * *

><p>Undertaker mused over the book Eric picked up at a local shop from Mortal London the next day. They were taking a little break from building the new greenhouse, and he decided to have a peak at the contents. Jase was curled up on the sofa next to him, sipping a glass of water after having lunch.<p>

"What about Matilda? No, that sounds like a cow. Hmm."

Undertaker flipped the page. "Nadine, Naomi, Natalie…" Right now he was going through the female names, finding none that really appealed to him but offering up the ones that didn't make him cringe.

Jase wiggled up far enough along Undertaker's form so that he could see the list that was being read from, "Only suggest the ones you like." He reminded, "He or she will only get one name. Not everyone is like you and gets to have many, mister Legendary Death Undertaker Chronus."

The mortician snorted and kissed Jase's forehead. "The only name I go by anymore is Chronus Undertaker, darlin'. Just like you're Jase Dubois. But I s'pose I should just pick the ones I really like and you ought to do the same. Surely we can agree on something we both like."

He leaned forward to fetch his cup of tea and he grinned when he heard a snore coming from Eric, who was sitting in the reclining armchair near the other window. Alan was curled up in his lap like a kitten, apparently napping as well.

"I think they're tuckered out," whispered Chronus with amusement.

"They worked all day on the greenhouse." Jase pointed out, taking the book and turning the page. He sighed, seeing no names that jumped out at him, "Naming babies is…difficult."

"I agree." Undertaker gave him a kiss on the cheek and got up. "Well, since our guests are stuck with the sandman right now, I'll go out and do a bit more work on the greenhouse. I think we should at least get the tarp up over it. I smell rain in the air. Why don't you keep looking through that and write down anything that catches your fancy while I'm out doing that, lovely?"

"Be careful. No more smashing fingers and hands if you won't let me heal it." Jase took the baby name book and flipped to the beginning. He then grabbed a pen and pad of paper from the side table to jot down the names he liked as he went through the list.

* * *

><p>Weeks passed by and eventually, Jase started showing more physical signs of his condition. His flat belly starting to grow out with a gentle curve that made belts uncomfortable, and his slacks fit awkwardly around his hips. He wasn't too big yet and could still get away with his normal clothing, but the way they covered his body didn't hide the fact that there was something there—which would attract stares from strangers in both the mortal and reaper realms.<p>

But Jase had stopped caring about that, and he'd grown used to his condition and the restrictions he'd been placed under for the time being. He wasn't going to argue it when it was for the safety of his unborn child.

Jase smiled to himself as he hurried through the reaper library where he'd been told that his husband was currently searching for something, and spotting Chronus standing between the rows of books, his eyes scanning the shelves. The doll picked up his pace and slipped his arms around the tall reaper, a slip of paper in his hand.

"Oh, look who's here," chuckled Chronus. He turned around and he laid one long, pale hand over his beloved's tummy. "My dearly darling and our nipper. What brings you here today, sweet love?"

He kissed Jase's nose, then his lips. He never failed to shower the doll with affection whenever possible.

"Baby names." Jase smiled, "I think I found two I like, depending on our Peanut's gender." He pulled back and held up the paper, "I want to know what you think of them and I didn't want to wait until you get home."

"Oh? Do tell, lovely. What have you come up with?" Undertaker tucked the book he'd selected under his arm and he guided Jase away to one of the reading desks, offering the chair to him.

Jase took the offered seat, relaxing against the back of it. Pregnancy did bother his back slightly, even though he wasn't all that big yet. But he also wasn't used to the extra weight or the posture he had to take when standing to counter it.

He held up the paper again, showing the names he'd written down, a few other names listed but crossed out. "I am thinking the name Eliot if he's a boy, or, if she's a girl, Cecilia." He looked up at his husband with a hopeful expression.

Undertaker considered the names for a moment, and he nodded and smiled. "I think those are both fine names, Jase. Better than anything my old head could come up with, anyway." He sat on the edge of the desk and he opened the book he'd procured, searching through the pages. "Have you eaten lunch yet, darlin'? I can go on break soon if you'd like to go to the café down the street with me."

"I have, but I could go for a snack." Jase said. His appetite had grown to be overactive, going from never feeling hungry, to always feeling hungry. It was a strange feeling for him after he'd spent so many years as a bizarre doll. Such a human feeling such as hunger felt so new to him, though he knew he'd spent most of his life knowing the feeling of hunger.

"Right then. I think they've got steak sandwiches on the menu, unless you'd rather try something else." Undertaker slipped a bookmark into his book and he got up to check it out at the front desk. Lately Jase craved more than just steak—mainly because the baby needed a more balanced diet to develop healthily. "Their ham on rye is quite nice, too."

We'll see what looks the best when I get there. You know how my mind can change." He chuckled, thinking back to the night before when he'd sent his husband out on a quest for watermelon, only to want green beans and chicken by the time Chronus got back.

* * *

><p>After having lunch together, Undertaker gave his husband a kiss goodbye and went back to work, while Jase went to the doctor for a checkup. The ancient had been getting more and more reaping assignments as he adjusted to life back at Dispatch, and he and Ronald teased each other a lot while out on the job. He was coming to like the upbeat young blond and he found work much more enjoyable with him at his side. Of course, eventually he would be partnered up with Eric Slingby…but he knew the Scotsman would be almost as much fun to team up with. Besides, Eric was fun to pick on.<p>

As he gathered his last cinematic record of the day, Chronus checked his watch and nodded in satisfaction. He hopped up on a brick fence and waited for Ronald to finish up and come back to him. As he sat waiting, he spotted Holtz across the street and he grinned and waved at him when the grouchy agent noticed him. He could have sworn Holtz sniffed in disdain before creating a portal back to reaper London.

"What a stuffy fellow," muttered the ancient. "He could at least _try_ to be civil, after marking me up the way he did."

A woman paused to stare at him in passing, and he waved at her, too. She evidently didn't know what to think of the sight of the silver-haired man in the uniform suit just casually squatting on the top of the fence, and she hurried off.

"Mayhap I ought to cloak myself," mused Chronus. Mortals often found his agility creepy and strange. Deciding not to draw more attention to himself than he already had, he masked himself from mortal sight.

"Heads up!" Ronald's voice suddenly shouted right before an exploding ball of water soaked the back of the silver reaper's head, followed by the sound of laughter.

Undertaker jumped off the fence in surprise, his hand flying to the now drenched back of his head. "Why you cheeky li'l buggar," protested the ancient with a grin. He supposed it was payback for the little stunt he'd pulled on him in the cafeteria yesterday, loosening the lid of his saltshaker. "Water-bombing your elder…for shame!"

"You could look at it like that," Ronald laughed, "Or, you can look at it my way as in I just water-bombed my junior." He hopped down off the roof he was perched upon and stuck his hands in his pockets as he looked over at Chronus, "And you totally deserved it."

"Mayhap I did," offered Chronus without rancor, "but you know I'll still have to get you back at some point…or we could prank the boss. I wonder how Willy would react to sitting down on a whoopee cushion?"

He could just picture the vein in William's head throbbing with outrage, and he chuckled. "Tell me, Ronnie, is your fellow always so uptight, or does he tend to loosen up a bit in the home? I've seen corpses less stiff than him."

"You have ta get him naked and behind a locked door to get him relaxed and carefree." Ron chuckled, "And Eric tried the whoopee cushion thing. Failed. You gotta go big or go home with getting him. He's the boss, he expects little pranks."

"I see," murmured Chronus. "I s'pose I'll have to get more creative then, if I'm to get a good prank off on him. We should probably get back to turn in our collections and reports. I want to hear what the doctor said to Jase when he went in for his appointment. We might be about due for the first ultrasound soon, and that means we could find out what we're having."

The silver reaper grinned at the prospect. They'd already started setting up the nursery, but it would be nice to get a head start on baby clothes, too. There wasn't much point in doing that 'till they knew whether they were buying for a little lad or a little lass.

"What are you two hoping for? Boy or girl?" Ron asked, "I know you'd be happy either way, I'm just curious."

Chronus shrugged and began to walk toward the nearest safe location to summon a portal back home. "Haven't really thought much on it, really, but I think I'd be partial to a daughter. I'm not much of a sporty fellow, so a little girl might be easier for me to entertain. Of course, some girls enjoy sports as well, so that might not be a guarantee I won't end up playing ball or croquet or whatever sports young folk enjoy these days."

"Football, cricket…yeah, usually those." Ronald chuckled, "But you know, you could end up having a girl who wants to learn ballet. Dancing around on her toes in a floofy tutu."

Undertaker laughed with delight at the mental imagery. "Yes, I s'pose I could. I would like that; but I don't have any plans to press the nipper to take on anything he or she doesn't want to. I've seen parents make too many demands on their children and cause a rift. Our child's going to have every opportunity I can give it to be whatever it wants to be."

He winked. "Even a mortician."

"...Don't traumatize the kid!" Ron gasped, finding the idea of a toddler playing with body parts utterly creepy, "and eyeballs are not an acceptable substitute to marbles."

Undertaker chuckled and created the portal. "Forensics is a perfectly respectable career choice, Mr. Knox, and I'd never give my nipper something so unsanitary to play with. Jase and I don't dwell in a house of horrors, after all. You and Willy ought to come over some night for dinner, after work. I'm sure Jase wouldn't mind the company."

"You ever try to make dinner plans with the man? I have and it's near impossible." Ron laughed, "It's always delayed because of work. His job totally sucks that way. Cuts down on sexy private time, too."

Undertaker stepped through the portal and he waited on the other side for Ronald to come out behind him before answering. "Well then, mayhap on a weekend." He shrugged and started off for the library. "Surely the chap gets at least one day off once in a while. Or do you book those days for your 'sexy time'?"

He smirked at the younger reaper, unconcerned with the reference to the couple's romantic business. He was, after all, not an easy man to embarrass.

"Mmm, it's normally filled up with sexy time with yours truly." Ron grinned, "But I suppose I could free up a few hours off one of those days."

Chronus opened the door to the library and walked through. "That'd be nice. I think with you there to balance out Spears' stuffiness, we might even have a good time." He smirked, not entirely serious. William had proven he could lighten up with a bit of drink in him. The fellow just needed more time to relax than others did.

"You kidding? If I'm there it's a party!" Ron grinned, "Oh… hey, that kind of reminds me…do you know anything about flowers?" he asked, glancing up at the taller reaper.

"A bit," answered Chronus with a nod. "Not quite as much as Alan, but my botanical know-how is fairly broad. Something I can help you with, chap?"

"Will's birthday is coming up." Ron shrugged, "He said not to do anything for it but I want to, anyway. It's his first birthday since our marriage. I was going to ask Al, but he's been so busy with opening his shop, I'd like to make it easier on him and already know what to get when I place the order."

Spears didn't strike Chronus as the sort of man that would appreciate flowers, but he couldn't fault Ronald for wanting to get him some on the special occasion. He considered what he knew of the supervisor's taste, and he came up with a suggestion. "Maybe some orchids. I think Alan has some blooming and ready for harvest in the new greenhouse. Seems like something a fellow like William might fancy."

Ron nodded, "I'll get some of those, then. Don't know what they look like, but they should be a nice surprise, I think." Flowers for the man's office, at least. They were to be his public gift. The blond, of course, also planned on rocking the man's world in private that night as well.

* * *

><p>They had just finished turning in their collections when they ran into Quinton Holtz. He was speaking to one of the head librarians about something, and the moment he saw Chronus he scowled. The silver reaper walked right by him with Ronald, smiling brightly and giving him a nod. "Afternoon, old chap. Careful with that sour-puss. Your face could get stuck like that. Oh, right…too late, eh?"<p>

Holtz reddened. "You still treat reaping as a game, Death. It's a disgrace."

"Haven't you got any new material?" Undertaker's smile didn't fade. "And for the record, if I treated it like a game I wouldn't bring in as many collections as I do. Just 'cause I don't go around acting like I've got a stick of fireants up my bum doesn't mean I'm disrespecting the job."

Quinton harrumphed. "I take my work very seriously, as should you. However, I doubt you have the capacity to do so."

Chronus waved a hand as if displaying something for an audience, glancing at Ronald. "See there, Knox? This is what your Willy could turn into some day, if you don't make the fellow loosen up."

"And now you're insulting the Dispatch supervisor?" scoffed Holtz.

"Not at all. I'd say he's _already_ turned into you, if I wanted to insult him. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to turn in my reports and get home to the better half."

He smiled and waved absently, heading for the exit while Holtz scowled at him.

"William would need a much bigger stick to get to that guy's level of asshole." Ron said once he felt he was safely far enough away. Holtz was his elder, after all, he could get himself into trouble if he said something in the man's presence. He smirked, "And normally he's putting it up my arse."

Ron checked his watch and sighed, "May be a little late clocking out today."

Undertaker grinned. "Thinking of Willy's willy, eh?" He snickered at his own pun. "Well, it could have been much worse. I think we did rather well, considering we were running behind schedule today." He had the presence of mind to check for traffic before crossing the street, once they made it there.

"I wonder when we'll be able to tell the gender," mused the ancient as his blond companion caught up with him. His thoughts had already slipped back to Jase and the peanut—a thing which he really couldn't seem to help.

"I don't know—not like having a baby is a normal thing around here." Ronald shrugged, "But hey—I hope you get a tiptoeing dance girl instead of a cricket-playing sports boy." He chuckled, patting the man's shoulder. "You'll be a good daddy, either way, though."

Undertaker beamed at him and patted him back. "Thanks, chap. I'd like to think so too."

* * *

><p>He arrived home just as a spring downpour began, and he hurried up to the cottage with his collar tugged up to keep the rain off his face. Though his trench coat was water resistant, droplets of liquid rolled off of it onto the floor, and the ancient reaper hastily shed the garment and hung it outside under the porch to dry. He took off his glasses as he opened the front door and stepped into the foyer, and then he dug out his glassed case from his vest pocket to wipe them off with the cloth inside of it.<p>

"Jase? I'm home, lad. Bit later than usual, but your cuddle-monster's here now!"

"Saturday." Jase said, hurrying in and grinning up at his husband, clearly in a good mood, which was nice as the day before his mood swings had him in a grumpy mood when Undertaker got home.

"Please don't be working on Saturday—that's when we get to see our baby again with that machine thing!"

Chronus smiled and embraced him, kissing him lovingly. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, pet. I've already informed Spears that I'll take overtime if I have to, in order to be there for the first ultrasound. Oh, sorry…my hair's a bit soggy."

He pulled back upon realizing that a damp strand of his hair was clinging to Jase's cheek. It left a trail of dampness as he pulled it away. "I'll just get out of these clothes and change into something a bit more…mortician. This uniform needs a washing, anyhow."

"I don't care." Jase smiled, bouncing up to kiss his cheek, "I'm excited. Think they will be able to tell if Peanut's a little Eliot or a little Cecilia?" he asked as he moved with Chronus towards the bedroom.

"Could be a tad too early," warned the reaper, "so it's best neither of us go in with our hopes up, but there's a good chance they can."

He loosened and removed his tie, before unbuttoning his vest and shrugging out of it. "Ah, so nice to get out of these clothes. I don't remember this uniform being so stiff and itchy. Must have been, though. I s'pose I never noticed…or I stopped after a while."

He unbuttoned the shirt and removed it to drop it with the vest and tie, before unbuckling his belt and tugging it out of his trousers, and then he bent over to remove his boots and socks, his silver hair falling around him to brush against the floor. "And I much prefer my regular boot cut to these…but if I'm going to be an official agent again, I can't dress as a funeral director, can I?"

"They may let you make a few changes. Ronald has his belt and shoes, Grell had that red coat and a ribbon, Alan had used that bolo tie, and Eric has a complete lack of a vest. Maybe you can use your normal boots."

Undertaker chuckled. "They'd never fit under or over these pants, love. Too loose to squeeze the boots over, not loose enough to fit underneath."

He paused in straightening up to give Jase another quick kiss before undoing his trousers and tugging them down to wriggle out of them. He burst into laughter when his husband's eyes widened. Whoops…he'd gone without underwear again. He probably should consider getting some proper knickers, seeing as the trousers didn't quite…support his goods the way his usual, more form-fitting pants did. Being the lewd sort he could be at times, he wiggled his hips again to make said goods sway and bounce.

"See something you like, darlin'?" teased Chronus between chuckles. He stepped out of the trousers and kicked them aside, and he then turned around to the wardrobe to collect a change of clothes. "You're quite welcome to take advantage of it if the mood strikes, you know." He grinned over a pale shoulder at the doll and winked, before opening the wardrobe and rummaging through it for his regular clothing. Deciding the robes alone would suffice since they weren't expecting company, he pulled them out and slipped them on.

It had been on the tip of Jase's tongue to suggest wearing his tighter pants as well. After all, they were black, same as Undertaker's work slacks. But catching sight of what his husband _wasn't_ wearing with his uniform let the words escape, and his hormones started to rage, his own slacks growing tighter.

"Wh-what about the baby? You may poke his eye out or something!" He gasped, spinning around to help tear his gaze away.

Chronus blinked and turned around, his robes still hanging open. "After the things I've taught you about anatomy, you…oh, love…no." He shook his head and he started to laugh, but he stifled it and crossed the room to rub his mate's suddenly tense shoulders. "Darlin', that's not possible. I'm flattered you think so highly of my size, but it's not _that_ long."

He reached around Jase's front to rub the little mound of his belly. "The peanut's safe and sound in its li'l pouch. Even if I _could_…er…reach it…my cock's not a sword."

He turned the doll around in his arms and smiled down at him. "But we don't have to go that far, my dear…not if it worries you. If you're feeling a bit frisky, I'm happy to play in other ways."

He bent over to kiss his forehead. "And if you feel like you want me inside of you, then we could try positions that don't put any weight on you or the nipper. Either way, I'll follow your lead, right? I might tease but I won't pressure."

"I-wasn't just telling you!" Jase insisted, his face a deep red, "I was telling myself too because I really—_really_—want to."

Chronus' smile softened, and he slipped a hand down over the small Frenchman's abdomen again. "Do you, precious? I'd be a bald-faced liar if I said I don't want to, myself." He rubbed his belly and he lowered his mouth to Jase's for another kiss. "But I want you to feel safe. Always."

There was no point in trying to conceal the effect his husband's expressed desire had on him. They could feel one another's emotions and desires. Undertaker swelled helplessly between his thighs, his shaft lifting as it thickened and grew longer. He sighed and looked down at it accusingly. "Do you mind? I'm trying to have a moment without you buggering up my thought processes."

"Are you talking to 'little Chronus' again?" Jase asked, looking up at him and trying to focus on his face, "I've been wanting to for days but I'm carrying a baby! It doesn't seem fair. Not at all."

Undertaker chuckled. "Well, that seems to happen when the troublesome fellow perks up, at times." He stroked Jase's hair, his gaze admiring on his youthful, attractive countenance. "I try not to let him do all the thinking, you know. Doesn't help much that I've got such a tempting mate."

He pulled Jase into his arms and he rubbed his back, resisting the urge to let his hands wander overly. "Sorry if he's poking you, love. Can't really help that, but I won't let the 'li'l Chronus' turn me into a rutting beast on you."

"…I don't mind it…" the doll flushed and sighed, wrapping his arms around Chronus, "It won't hurt the baby?"

The ancient shook his head. "You're in good health, and as long as we don't get too rough or put too much weight on you, I'm sure it'll be fine."

His hands snuck down to cup Jase's bottom, pulling him tighter against him. He could feel the Frenchman's answering desire pressing flush against his leg, and he smirked. "Like I said; we could at least take care of each other, lovely."

"Then…I suppose we could…if you wanted to…" Jase said as casually as he could, though he couldn't deny that he wanted it more than anything at the moment.

Chronus was thankful of the link they shared, otherwise he might worry that Jase was only offering for his sake. As it was, he knew his spouse wanted it as much as he did, and he lowered his mouth to his again for a deeper kiss than before. They hadn't made love since finding out about the peanut. This was probably the longest stretch of time they'd gone without it, save for when they were separated by certain events.

He began to deftly unbutton Jase's shirt, hunching over so that he could keep kissing him whilst doing it. A groan reverberated in his throat as his passion grew, and he picked the smaller man up to deposit him on the bed. He helped him out of his shirt and he urged him to lie back as he worked his boots and pants off, next. He'd gotten quite good at removing his lover's clothes quickly. Seeing as the sun was going down and the lights in the bedroom were dim, he removed Jase's glasses so that he could gaze into his eyes unimpeded. He took his own off and he set both of them on the nightstand, before kissing him again.

His fingers slid through Jase's ponytail and he tugged it free of the ribbon holding it, loosening his long brown hair. "My sweet Jase," he purred, aching for him. One hand slid down the Frenchman's smooth chest to his belly, resting on the naked curve of his abdomen for a moment, before seeking out his erection. As he began to stroke it, he issued a soft promise. "I'll be gentle as a moth's wing, lovely."

Jase gave a little nod, "How…can we do this where it won't hurt the baby?" He asked, wanting to make sure they knew what they were doing before they started.

Chronus smiled at him, understanding his concern. "Let's just play it by ear, darlin'. We don't have to go any further than you're comfortable with."

He stroked his hands over Jase's body and he gently urged him to lie back. Still standing at the foot of the bed, he bent over his husband and he began to kiss his way down his body. "I just want to give my sweet dollie all the pleasure he deserves," he murmured between kisses, "And I don't need to be inside you to enjoy the delights you have to offer me."

He brushed his thumb over the tip of Jase's sex, and he circled a rosy nipple with the tip of his tongue. His length twitched with need as he heard the Frenchman gasp, and he smiled, pausing his oral ministrations. "That sound…that's reward enough for me, my dear…"

He took the pebbled nipple between his lips and gave it a gentle tug, and he began to pump his hand up and down the length of Jase's arousal.

"I…wish I could say the same…but it's not enough for me right now…I want all of you, Chronus!" Biting his lip, the pregnant young man rolled them over and he sat up on top of Undertaker, becoming all too aware of the arousal digging into his bum when he did so.

"Oh…m-my," gasped the reaper, twitching between the delightful little cheeks hugging his cock. "Quite assertive of you, love."

He reached out for the bedside table, pulling open the drawer to retrieve the oil in there. He was down low on the bed so it was a bit of a reach, but he managed after a couple of tries and he undulated gently beneath his husband as he uncorked it and dribbled some over his fingers, retracting the nails prudently as he did so.

"Mm, I want it too, Jase," he murmured, his eyes growing heavy-lidded. The feel of the doll's silken cheeks rubbing against his length made him throb greedily, and he reached behind and under to stroke a lubed finger against his target. He pressed in gently, watching Jase's expressions for any sign of pain. "This could be the best position for us right now, I think. Gives you all the control on how much you take of me, and how hard."

Jase nodded, a small groan sounding in his throat, "We'll…stay like this…then…" he leaned forward, resting his head on his husband's shoulder, little thrills racking through his attention-starved body. Doctor Skies had told him he may feel an increase in sexual urges, but had said no more on the subject. He was glad to know that it wouldn't hurt the baby.

Chronus carefully eased his finger deeper, kissing Jase on the cheek as he began to pump it slowly. "That's it, love," he encouraged softly when the doll whimpered and clutched a lock of his hair. "Relax for me. I'll take very good care of you."

He subconsciously rubbed against the cleft that his arousal was settled into as he prepared him, wanting so badly to join with him but mindful not to rush it. "You're so lovely, Jase. I can't imagine a life without you, now."

His other hand reached under the doll's rounding belly to resume stroking his length, and he continuously pressed kisses on his cheek and jaw. He added a second finger and he sought out Jase's lips demandingly when he moaned, muffling the sound with a deep, hungry kiss.

"Mmm, yes, I'm glad I put up with you in the beginning…and you, me." Jase breathed between tiny moans. They had gotten through so much together, and after this—after having a baby—there was little, if anything, that they couldn't get through.

Except…morning sickness. He wasn't handling that on his own very well, and sometimes Chronus paid for it.

But the morning was a ways off, and Jase had a very naked husband under him. He trailed kisses along Undertaker's neck and ran his fingers through his long damp hair as he shifted and squirmed from Chronus' touch.

"Mmm," purred the ancient with a sigh. The loving attention to his hair distracted him a bit, but not quite enough to disrupt his actions. He pumped his fingers a bit faster, brushing against that sweet spot inside in passing each time. After a little while, he deftly added a third finger and he groaned when he was sure Jase was ready for him.

"All right, love," he said huskily, withdrawing the digits to position himself beneath the doll. "I'm all yours."

Jase hesitated, a part of him still worried over how the baby would be affected. But he trusted his husband, and Chronus did know more about the body than he did. Slowly, he lowered himself, gasping as his entrance stretched over the tip of his husband and allowing him to enter him. Jase stopped with Chronus halfway inside him, allowing himself to adjust. "Ah-h!"

Chronus closed his eyes and took in a slow breath, willing himself not to thrust. "Easy, darlin'," he murmured, throbbing with the sensation. He opened his eyes and looked up at him again, exhaling with a smile. "Take your time with it."

He cupped Jase's hip with one hand and began to stroke his length with the other, holding still beneath him to give him the chance to set his own pace. His green-gold eyes traveled the doll's form with loving attention, taking in every little detail. "I'm quite the lucky reaper," he decided aloud.

With a deep breath, Jase maintained his somewhat timid control over the situation, and he took his lover's hands, guiding them to touch his hips before he slowly lifted himself again and then lowered himself at that same, slow pace, again stopping half-way, hoping that doing so would only help prevent harm finding their baby.

Undertaker continued to let his husband set the pace, lying still beneath him and holding his hips as silently directed. "Feel good, darlin'?" He asked; though he would sense it if it were otherwise.

The brunet nodded, biting his lip and looking down at Chronus with a gentle, passionate gaze. "You—can still touch and kiss me. I know that won't do any harm to the baby."

"Oh, I had plans to," assured the reaper with a wink. "But y' seemed to want my hands on your hips."

He ran his hands over said hips in a sensual glide, and then slid one up over his belly and ribs. The other caressed Jase's tense outer thigh with, before stroking it back up to join the other on his torso. He took one of the small hands braced against his chest and he brought it to his lips so that he could kiss the palm. He wanted to rise into a sitting position and embrace him, but that would wedge his length deeper inside of him and he didn't want to give him more than he was ready to take. He settled for this, instead. His pale lips pressed soft kisses on Jase's palm and fingers, while his free hand caressed his chest and fondled his nipples, one at a time. He kept his lazy gaze on the Frenchman as he sucked his fingertips, swirling his tongue around the pads of each one.

"But you weren't touching me…" Jase trembled, trying to keep himself from fully settling onto his husband's length. "So I helped you…and…" Trailing off, the Frenchman pressed his middle and pointer fingers further past Undertaker's lips, curiously exploring with more than just his tongue. As Chronus obediently began to suck on his digits, Jase lifted himself again and lowered himself, restarting a slow rhythm.

"Mmm...hmmm," hummed the ancient with pleasure around the fingers he was sucking on.

His eyes fluttered shut, and he released his wrist to curl his hand around the doll's jutting arousal, stroking the satiny length of it with loving care. He fondled his nipples one at a time with the other hand, teasing them to hardness, and he sucked those curious fingers deeper into his mouth, curling his tongue around them in a lewd manner. He emulated the motions he often used on Jase's cock when he orally pleasured him, and he opened his eyes again to gaze up at him. He throbbed within the snug sheath massaging his length, his breath catching a little as he struggled not to thrust.

He rather liked this assertive side of his husband. It pleased him that Jase was finally comfortable enough to be a bit more demanding and explore his sexual needs further.

Indeed, it had taken Jase a long time to feel comfortable with his own sexuality, even after he'd become sexually active with the man who was now his husband. His time with the church had really harmed him in that aspect. It took far too many years for him to stop thinking of it as being a sin to enjoy it, seek it, and crave it. Had he been mortal still, his prime would have been wasted for the most part. He was still shy about it, and awkward in trying to take initiative, but it was easier for him to express his wants and needs in private. And he no longer felt the need of modesty when he was alone with his husband.

Jase's motions sped up a bit and he bent over Chronus as he did so, panting through parted lips.

Chronus started to hesitantly move with him, gasping helplessly as the pleasure and need began to overcome his control. "Darlin'," he groaned, his cry distorted by Jase's fingers. He stroked him faster, his blood pounding with lust. He stopped fondling the doll's nipples to cup his left hip, feeling the lithe muscles flex beneath his palms.

"N-not too—ohh, Chronus!" Jase moaned, starting to forget why he didn't want it 'too deep'. It felt good, and he wanted more of it.

Sensing his mate's delight, Undertaker smiled and he gently drove deeper, taking it slow and leaving most of the movements to Jase. He ran his tongue over the fingers he was sucking on and he purred, eyes drifting shut with bliss. He squeezed his length a little firmer and he stroked the tip of it with his thumb, listening to every sound their lovemaking provoked from the doll.

Oh, how he adored those helpless little moans of pleasure, those hitching gasps and the flush that always spread over Jase's sculpted cheeks. The ancient opened his eyes again to look up at his husband and admire that blush, and he growled a little with lusty appreciation. Too pretty for his own good, when he was like this. Chronus had to remind himself not to get rough with him, and he kept his pumping slow and steady, edging in deeper and deeper with each pelvic roll.

"Ah—ah—Ch-Chronus!" Jase cried out, his head falling back on his shoulders, his gasps hitching each time Chronus struck deeper until his sweet spot was found and struck, causing his cries to grow louder and making him all the more eager for more of that sweet bliss. He sped up his movement, starting to ride his husband much more freely.

Undertaker released the doll's fingers from his mouth, licking the saliva-dampened digits enticingly as he panted against them. "That's it, love...oh, Jase..."

He met his lover's rolling hip movements with his own, still taking care not to thrust too deep or hard. Jase was doing most of the work now though, and the reaper broke into a sweat as his climax began its steady approach. His eyes glowed with the traces of holy fire remaining in him, as they tended to do when he felt high emotion or great pleasure. He felt both their bodies heating up, and he instinctively summoned death's chill to cool them both down.

The brunet gripped the reaper's hands, squeezing them as he bounced up and down pressure building up in his gut. And through their bond, he could feel that he wasn't the only one mounting to climax, and it encouraged him to keep going.

"Cl-close-!" he gasped, trembling and his movements faltering as his completion took hold and he cried out, a sticky mess shooting out and covering his belly and dripping down onto Undertaker's.

Chronus watched his lover's adored features light up with the ecstasy of orgasm. He lasted for a few heartbeats more, before he followed him with a groan, bucking inside of him and filling him to the brink. He tossed his head from side to side and panted the doll's name, hips lifting off the mattress and bringing Jase's small, straddling form with them. Briefly treated to a kaleidoscope of colors flashing behind his closed eyelids, the reaper's hips dropped back to the mattress and he lay spent beneath his husband, gasping for breath.

"Exquisite performance, love," he managed to rasp out when he could find the vocal capacity to do so. He looked up at Jase through the fringe of bangs that had fallen partway over his eyes, clinging to his sweat-beaded forehead. A bright, satisfied smile grew on his pale lips and he squeezed the small hands still linked with his. "How do you feel, hmm?"

Though he already knew the answer.

Still panting, Jase let himself fall onto his side next to Chronus, hugging him as if he'd never let him go again, "That—" he flushed and ran fingers through silver hair again, "was amazing."

Undertaker chuckled and slid an arm beneath him, drawing him close to snuggle against his side and lay his head on his chest. Still breathing heavily as well, he kissed Jase's forehead and he reached over with his free hand to lay it protectively over the swell of his abdomen. "And the baby is fine. Nothing to fret over, darlin'. As long as you're healthy and there aren't any signs of complications, we've got time before you're too far along to do that anymore."

He cuddled him and kissed his cheek. "And there's nothing sayin' we can't do other things, either. Don't be afraid to ask for a bit of loving whenever you want it, my dear. On the other hand, if you lose the urge altogether for a while, I'll understand that too. Some women are prone to losing their desire as they go along. Others just get randier. I s'pose we'll just have to wait and see what happens with you."

"Well, for now…I may be a little demanding of your private time here at home." Jase flushed, nuzzling into Chronus' cooled body. "…though it made me tired early…" he yawned suddenly.

"Look what you've..." Chronus yawned too, inspired by Jase against his will. "...started. Mm, me too. What's say we set the alarm to go off in an hour to make dinner and have a li'l nap?"

Nodding, Jase squeezed his husband affectionately, "Hopefully without after-nap sickness." He joked before letting him stretch over to set the alarm to save them from over-sleeping.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>


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